An Easy Introduction to the Slide Rule Pdf

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· 23 ratings · 7 reviews

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Nov 20, 2015 Logan rated it it was amazing

Absolutely brilliant. I wish he had talked a little more clearly of the theory but I have to say that already having an understanding of logarithms, this really opened my mind to the possibilities of representing them spatially and how they can be used to solve all kinds of problems. It almost makes me think that slide rules should be taught today, just to get a more fundamental and intuitive grasp of why logarithms are important.

For example, the book shows you how slide rule can be used to quic

For example, the book shows you how slide rule can be used to quickly and visually perform any of the following:
- Multiplication and division (which is really just adding or subtracting logarithms)
- Ratios, such as a/b=c/d, where once you set the slide rule to a and b, you instantly have every single possible c/d, all you have to do is read it off. It's like having your own tables.
- Log(x) or antilog(x) are instantly readable, very useful for converting to dB for example.
- Folded scales which start at Pi, giving you an instant set of tables for all multiples of pi
- Reciprocals, instantly see what 1/x is for any value of x
- squares, move the hairline to a value and instantly see its square, or cube
- square roots, conversely, move the hairline to a value and instantly see its root.

Especially before pocket calculators I can see how useful this would be. Unfortunately obsolete for practical purposes but I think it can still be very helpful just for seeing the importance of logarithms and how numbers can be related to each other spatially.

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Anybody who loves math will love this book. Get it and get a slide rule and re-learn things.

Oct 15, 2021 Galatea rated it it was amazing

This book has the strange distinction of being one of the most readable instruction manuals I've ever come across.

Of course, the slide rule is obsolete. They've been outmatched in speed, convenience, and functionality, first by pocket calculators, and then by smartphones. That being said, as a fan of puzzles and crafts, there's a certain elegance to the slide rule, essentially a set of scales cramped together for maximum utility. Aside from utilitarian function, it also carries with it a legacy

This book has the strange distinction of being one of the most readable instruction manuals I've ever come across.

It also comes to show just how outdated the mathematics curriculum in my country is. Being a 3rd world nation that was colonized by America, it seems like we still haven't updated our textbooks past the 70s or 80s. Talks about uncertainty, precision, estimation, and significant figures are rendered obsolete by how precise calculators today are, but these things are still being taught in schools today. Not with slide rules in mind, but with the general sentiment that someone might need to know them "just in case", when it'd be more useful to spend more time explaining things such as reading different scales or graphs, which are skills still relevant to math literacy today.

This is the first book I've read by Isaac Asimov. I've never read his science fiction, and frankly I don't plan to, as anyone who's seen the books I've finished prior may surmise. That being said, I'm glad to have been able to meet the words of such a famous author, regardless of genre.

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I don't know why I found this so fascinating. I don't have a slide rule and don't intend to use one. But the exploration of logarithms (by which a slide rule executes its most fundamental calculating) in the book is itself worth it. I don't know why I found this so fascinating. I don't have a slide rule and don't intend to use one. But the exploration of logarithms (by which a slide rule executes its most fundamental calculating) in the book is itself worth it. ...more

Feb 18, 2017 Anthony Faber rated it really liked it

This is for someone who needs more handholding than the brief instruction booklet that comes with a slide rule gives. I'm thinking of getting a slide rule for my nieces and this book would be a good companion for it.
This is for someone who needs more handholding than the brief instruction booklet that comes with a slide rule gives. I'm thinking of getting a slide rule for my nieces and this book would be a good companion for it.

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Very straightforward guide to getting started on the slide rule.

Mar 15, 2011 Matt Musselman rated it really liked it

I checked this out from the library when I was a kid, and figured out how to work a slide rule my father gave me. I'd probably read 15 of Asimov's books before I realized he was a fiction writer as well. I checked this out from the library when I was a kid, and figured out how to work a slide rule my father gave me. I'd probably read 15 of Asimov's books before I realized he was a fiction writer as well. ...more

Isaac Asimov was a Russian-born, American author, a professor of biochemistry, and a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.

Professor Asimov is generally considered one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. He has works published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System (lacking only an entry in the 100s category of Philosophy).

Asimov is widely considered a master of the science-fiction genre and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, was considered one of the "Big Three" science-fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov's most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series, both of which he later tied into the same fictional universe as the Foundation Series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson. He penned numerous short stories, among them "Nightfall", which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time, a title many still honor. He also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as a great amount of nonfiction. Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French.

Most of Asimov's popularized science books explain scientific concepts in a historical way, going as far back as possible to a time when the science in question was at its simplest stage. He often provides nationalities, birth dates, and death dates for the scientists he mentions, as well as etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Examples include his Guide to Science, the three volume set Understanding Physics, and Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery.

Asimov was a long-time member and Vice President of Mensa International, albeit reluctantly; he described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs" He took more joy in being president of the American Humanist Association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, a Brooklyn, NY elementary school, and two different Isaac Asimov Awards are named in his honor.

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Isaac Asimov. (2007, November 29). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:50, November 29, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...

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