The Slide Rule

Abstract

Having accepted with some mental reservation the assurance of the Editor of this Gazette that the Slide Rule, although invented by Gunter as far back as 1624, is still unknown to many mathematicians, the writer has ventured to make this article explanatory and descriptive. To such then as are unenlightened he offers the good news that half-a-guinea will purchase an instrument capable of multiplying and dividing, of squaring and cubing, of extracting square and cube roots, of solving triangles and performing rapidly many similar combinations of arithmetic and trigonometric operations, all without any mental effort and to an accuracy of from ⅕ to ⅓ %. To examiners having to reduce marks to percentages the Slide Rule is invaluable, to physicists it is indispensable, to engineers it is both invaluable and indispensable.