The Genius Of Slide Rule Precision

Most people have heard of or seen slide rules, with older generations likely having used these devices in school and at their jobs. As purely analog computers these ingenious devices use precompute…

Joost Bürgi And Logarithms

Logarithms are a common idea today, even though we don’t use them as often as we used to. After all, one of the major uses of logarithms is to simplify computations, and computers do that jus…

Calculation Before We Went Digital

We have to like [Nicola Marras]. First, he wrote a great mini-book about analog computers. Then he translated it into English. Finally, he opened with a picture of Mr. Spock using an E6-B flight sl…

Pocket Calculator Isn’t A Brain Or Magic

If you predate the pocket calculator, you may remember slide rules. But slide rules take a a little skill to use. There was a market for other devices that were simpler or, in some cases, cheaper. …

Laser-Engraving Hairlines: When A Line Isn’t A Line

When is a line not a line? When it’s a series of tiny dots, of course! That’s the technique [Ed Nisley] used to create a super-fine, colored hairline in a piece of clear plastic —…

Genaille’s Rods: When Paint Sticks Do Math

What is a hacker, if not somebody who comes up with solutions that other just don’t see? All the pieces may be in place, but it takes that one special person to view the pieces as greater tha…

Rubber Band “Slide Rule” Doesn’t Slide, But Rotates

Around here we mostly enjoy slide rules. We even have our own collections including some cylindrical and circular ones. But [Mathologer] discusses a recent Reddit post that explains a circular slid…

Circuit VR: The Wheatstone Bridge Analog Computer

We are always impressed with something so simple can actually be so complex. For example, what would you think goes into an analog computer? Of course, a “real” analog computer has opam…

Design And Build Your Own Circular Slide Rule

You have to really like slide rules to build your own, including the necessary artwork. Apparently [Dylan Thinnes] is a big fan, based on this project he began working on a few months back. The res…