In indochina the vietminh forces were engaged in a similar rebellion against french rule. As graphical analog calculators, slide rules are closely related to nomograms, but the former are used for general calculations, whereas the latter are used for applicationspecific computations. Line up the 1 on the left hand side of sliding scale c with 2 on frame scale d. In addition are a few manuals i have written for my own jugglers and radix series slide rules. Unfortunately on both counts, neither quite lives up to former hemmi standards. To someone who doesnt know how to use it, a slide rule looks like a ruler designed by picasso. Nevil shute norway 18991960 is best known to me as nevil shute, the author of novels including. The autobiography of an engineer by nevil shute and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. An english aeronautical engineer, nevil shute norway wrote his novels under the name nevil shute. One fascinating thing about slide rule is the parallels and examples that one can draw to the fiction mr. The book concludes with the narrator joining forces with italian fascists against a group of russian spies. Mannheim slide rule 1850 faber castell 283n nestler 23r mannheim issac newton put 3 scales in parallel in 1675 to compute cubes.
The slide rule and other instruments which give the same facilities for rapid calculations, are covered by the term mechanical calculation. Well, i stumbled on this forum googling some slide rule info, and id like to say thanks for both the link to the slide rule book pdf and to fabercastells online shop. The slide rule also does not tell you the sign of your result. Nevil shute norway 17 january 1899 12 january 1960 was an english novelist and. Slide rule the autobiography of an engineer by nevil shute.
The family moved to dublin where his father was head of the post office, and nevil was a stretcher bearer during the 1916 easter rising. Compared to a calculator, a slide rule is severely limited in its accuracy. Slide rules go back hundreds of years, with new designs keeping almost all elements of a previous popular design to make it easier for people to adjust to the new rule. Born in ealing, he went to shrewsbury school and balliol college. Mathematical foundations of the slide rule with ack corrected. My slide rules this gallery is in the process of some updating, as many of the scans are from the 1990s, when my way of taking pictures was to put the slide rule on a flatbed scanner and hope it came out reasonably clearly. Before the invention of the pocket or handheld calculator, the slide rule was a popular tool for calculations.
The slide rule s importance to the industrial revolution, and the impact of the industrial revolution upon the slide rule, are demonstrated by the proliferation of designs. He wrote 24 novels many of which ive yet to read as well as this autobiography. Are, in the order they were written, the far country, in the wet and slide rule. Slide rule was published in 1954 and represented nevil shutes selected remembrances from childhood to 1938. Slide rule by nevil shute abebooks passion for books. Slide rule a quality instrument for sterling student or professional operating instructions a complete course in use and operation of slide rule the sterling student slide rule is an accurate instrument for use in multiplication, division, proportion, square and cube root problems, as well as sine, tangent and logar ithm solutions.
Nevil shute norway born on 17 january 1899 in ealing, a suburb to the west of london, nevil shute. The slide rule, also known colloquially in the united states as a slipstick, is a mechanical analog computer. Additional slide rule material can be accessed using the links in the left bar under slide rule content pages. Scientific american may 2006 university of vermont.
Autobiography of an engineer is the partial autobiography of the british novelist nevil shute. Simulated pickett n909es slide rule instruction sheet jpg explanation gallery index back to antiquark copyright 2005 derek ross. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Due to a stammer, shute failed his medical examination and returned to civilian life. His writing is clear and concise, even if its not meant for people, like myself, who have no familiarity with some of the technical terms. Nevil shute led a full, varied and active life in peace and war, which informed his work as a novelist. Nevil shute project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read.
Updated november 3, 2001 types of slide rules and their scales. He used his full name in his engineering career and nevil shute as his pen name to protect his engineering career from any potential negative publicity in connection with his novels. Slide rule refers to the now largely obsolete calculation tool a manual analog. There is also a version as a word document which is smaller 2040 kb. How to build yourself a slide rule math wonderhowto. History of the logarithmic slide rule 1 editors foreward this version of the cajoris important. Nevil shute project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. This 1961 version was prior to the lionelporter merger.
Multiplying with the slide rule suppose you want to multiply 2x4. Slide rule concentrates on nevil shutes work in aviation, ending in 1938 when he left the industry the book begins with details of shutes childhood and upbringing, his school years, events in the easter 1916 dublin rising, where his father was secretary. Ensn020, slide rule, 1954, 107, 544k, ebook, download pdf slide rule. Npr ed before the smartphone, the laptop and the pocket calculator, there was a. The slide rule the book, written by florian cajori, is the standard work on the early history of the slide rule. The life explorer vol 3 issue 6 2004 asian scientific article on slide rules 1. The parallels between shutes life and his fiction can be seen. Field artillery military slide rule, war department technical manual, tm 6240 1945 this instruction manual is for a special slide rule for use by the military for artillery calculations. The book begins with details of shutes childhood and upbringing, his school years, events in the easter 1916 dublin rising, where his father was secretary to the post office in ireland, and service during world war i. It just arrived along with finding the teledyne post versalog ii slide rule instructions book as a.
Slide rule by shute, nevil and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The physical form of the slide rule was developed by william oughtred in 1630 two logarithmic scales placed side by side to perform multiplication, seth partridge a body or. He explains what a slide rule is and how you can build one of your very own. Slide rule is nevil shutes autobiography from his childhood until 1940, and was published in 1954. Mathematical foundations of the slide rule joseph pasquale department of computer science and engineering university of california, san diego june 26, 2011 abstract we present a mathematical principle that provides a precise formulation for the types of functions a slide rule can be designed to calculate. These were the largest of their generation, vastly larger than the a380 and 747 jets of today. Nevil shute norway 17 january 1899 12 january 1960 was an english novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in australia. Here are a few instruction manuals for aw faber faber castell slide rules that i have acquired, most came with slide rules as indicated. Biogrpahy of nevil shute norway 1899 1960, aeronautical engineer, airspeed. Nate, the mathematics guy shows you the basics of a slide rule. Educated at balliol college, oxford and the royal military academy at woolwich, shute suffered from a stammer that precluded his being commissioned in the royal flying corps. From 1625 to 1800, the first 175 years after its invention, a total of 40 slide rule types, including circular and spiral designs, are recorded. Speaking of keeping technology alive, slide rule autobiographical by nevil shute puts it in.
Nevil shute best describes this autobiography in his own words. To go from engineer, to businessman and entrepreneur, to bestselling author in a lifetime is very rare. When i was research head of general motors and wanted a problem solved, id place a table outside the meeting room with a sign. Slide rule concentrates on nevil shutes work in aviation, ending in 1938 when he left the industry. Slide rule is an autobiography, but the part that almost everyone will buy it for is the account of the building of the r100 airship in competition with the r101. Henry suttons slide rule top was an early circular rule circa 1663. Buy a cheap copy of slide rule book by nevil shute. Background on logarithms, history of the slide rule, and how it all works. The book begins with details of shutes childhood and.
Overview of the major categories of slide rules, and descriptions of common scale labels and meanings. I had had the itch for a 283n and failed to pull the trigger a few years ago, but today the euro has fallen enough that i. Shute was an aeronautical engineer with a successful business career in aviation, specifically airships. Multiplying with the slide rule department of mathematics. Slide rule is his memoir of his earlier life, focusing on his adult years when he earned his living as an engineer and a businessman. Nevil shute, slide rule an autobiography of an engineer, winning at work. A cursor is fixed in the center of the window to allow for accurate readings. For some reason a stammer prevented his joining the royal flying corps.
Engineer, aviator, author and model engineer by allan j bester few people may be aware of the multifaceted life of nevil s norway, better known as nevil shute, a popular novelist of the latter half of the last century. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Slide rule was invented by english minister william oughtred in 1622. The scales ad are labeled on the lefthand side of the slide rule.
Bissaker slide rule 1654 circular slide rule king pocket calculator 66 sclales thacher calculator 30 ft. Slide rule is a quite remarkable memoir of a quite remarkable man. The autobiography of an engineer reprint by shute, nevil isbn. Slide rule simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. William oughtred made the first slide rule by inscribing logarithms on wood or ivory.
Nevil shute, slide rule an autobiography of an engineer, physics. He used the name nevil shute for his novels, but as an engineer he was nevil norway. To build the slide rule, you will need to download and print the following image at 300 dpi. You can enter and read a number typically to two or three decimal digits only. All other scales on a slide rule are referenced to the c and d scales. Buy slide rule by nevil shute from waterstones today. The slide rule is used mainly for multiplication and division, and also for scientific functions such as roots, logarithms and trigonometry, but usually not for addition or subtraction there are many different styles of slide rules. For shute fans, the book provides a look into the man and his background that we could only guess at previously. Fascinated by aircraft from his childhood days, shute studied at the royal military academy with the intention of joining the royal flying corps. It is unfortunate that, for some reasons not easy to see, the slide rule is sometimes regarded as a difficult instrument with which to. The slide rule, or slipstick, is a mechanical analog computer. The use of slide rules continued until about 1974, after which electronic calculators became more popular.
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