5/5/2023 0 Comments Slide rulers![]() ![]() It was a mathematical tourĭe force to accurately calculate logarithms for such a book. ![]() Briggs and Napier formally published this table, which You want five digits of precision your table of logarithms from 1 to 10 wouldĬontain 100,000 entries. Numbers in a range, say 1 to 10, and list them in a table. The answer was to actually compute the logs of all But the catch is: How do you know what the logs of the numbersĪre, and what does the log of the product actually mean?īriggs asked himself the same question when he helped develop the concept of So simply adding the logs of two or more numbers to get the log of the product would be simpler than Think we can agree it is much easier to add two numbers than to multiply them. This was its essential use when the base 10 logarithm was developed by Englishman Henry Briggs in 1617 after Scotsman John Napier invented the logarithm just three years earlier. However, for many more complex calculations, and particularly a series of calculations, it can be quite a time saver. ForĮxample, in base 10, log 11 = 1.0414, log 12 = 1.0792, and log 11 x 12 = logĪll this is very interesting, but what use is it? For an occasional simple calculation, probably very little. Have worked out algorithms to calculate the logarithm of any number. = log x + log y (log of a number x multiplied by a number y equals log x plus log y). ![]() In the language of logarithms, this is expressed as log xy Usually abbreviated as log, so we say log 10 =1, log 100 = 2, log 1000 = 3,īeauty of logarithms is they reduce multiplication to addition and division to Is 2 because 10 x 10 = 10² =100 the logartithm of 1000 is 3 because 10 x 10 x This can be done in any number base, but the easiest one to understand is base 10, because this is what the decimal number system we use every day is all about.Įxample, in base 10, the logarithm of 10 itself is 1 because 10 x 1 = 10 1 = 10 the logarthm of 100 it is the power to which a number must be raised to give a specified result. By the simplest definition, a logarithm is an exponent, i.e. The slide rule is founded on the principle of logarithms. Inconspicuous-because it has largely disappeared. The other extraordinary ordinary things we have discussed. The slide rule and what it meant to those of us who grew up with it and used itĮngineers in the ‘40s,’ 50s, and ‘60s, the slide rule was as inconspicuous as Of departure from this general theme, I would like to take a fond look back at To our lives we seldom notice them and hardly ever think about them. ![]() Things” is to explore truly historic things that have become so integral I couldįundamental premise of this blog series “Extraordinary Ordinary Mathematical principle, I did understand how the slide rule worked. By contrast,īecause it was based on a very simple but far-reaching I had no idea how an electronic calculator worked. Sing their praises as an ineffable advance over the slide rule. When affordableĮlectronic calculators were introduced in the 1970s, I was one of the first to Although I fully understand why the slide rule seems to have sunk out When slide rules were very much at the height of their powers (the 1940s andġ950s). Why? Because the slide rule, which in its day was considered by manyĪs the eighth wonder of the world, has virtually passed away without a trace. Have you ever held a slide rule in your hands? If you are a so-called “millennial” or slightly older, chances are not. Many grade schools use this ancient calculating device as a way of introducing students to some fundamental aspects of mathematics. Have you ever held an abacus in your hands? Chances are yes. ![]()
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