What is a slide rule?
Q: What is a slide rule?
A: A slide rule is a mechanical analog computer used mainly for multiplication and division, as well as scientific functions such as roots, logarithms and trigonometry.
Q: What are the different types of slide rules?
A: Slide rules can be linear or circular and have a standardised set of markings or scales used for mathematical computations. Some special-use slide rules have been made for aviation or finance with special scales for those applications.
Q: Who invented the slide rule?
A: The slide rule was invented by William Oughtred based on the work on logarithms by John Napier.
Q: When were electronic calculators developed?
A: Electronic calculators were developed before the 1970s but around 1974 the pocket calculator made the slide rule largely obsolete.
Q: What did people use most often in science and engineering before electronic calculators were developed?
A: Before electronic calculators were developed, people used the slide rule most often in science and engineering.
Q: How long did people continue to use the slide rule after digital computing devices were introduced?
A: People continued to use the slide rule through the 1950s and 1960s even as digital computing devices were gradually introduced.
