Cutting Edge Technology, Back In The Day: Slide Rules

I’ve been busy enough the last couple of weeks I’m off my writing schedule. I try to put up one post a week with an interesting technology link.

Today, I’m writing about technology which was revolutionary and cutting edge, but is now seen as obsolete. And that is slide rules.

Slide rules are based on logarithmic scales. They turn multiplication and division into addition and subtraction.

That was the simplest slide rule scales, there were other scales on slide rules too, for different mathematical functions.

The Oughtred Society is a group devoted to slide rules. If you’re interested in slide rules, that site is a good place to start.

(Nope, I still haven’t looked up correct citation rules for online links in an online post.)