They're really interesting items and of course can be gotten for a couple bucks at any antique knick-knack shop. It's worth taking an hour or two to learn the general idea of how they work if you're curious.
If you only want an approximate answer, and you have a slide rule handy (there are two big ifs), and it's a problem the slide rule is built to handle, then it's probably speed-competitive with a calculator. Maybe faster.
It's almost like the Hacker News blog-style format is not the best way to handle articles about popular topics. Maybe we need wiki-like 'Frequently Discussed Topics' pages.
When I joined the USN in 1975 the first course I was given in Nuclear Power School was how to use a slide rule. When I told my dad this he gave me his beautiful K&N slide rule with a great hard leather case. He's gone but the slide rule sits safely on a closet shelf.
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[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 39.0 ms ] threadhttp://www.sliderule.ozmanor.com/srmanl.html
They're really interesting items and of course can be gotten for a couple bucks at any antique knick-knack shop. It's worth taking an hour or two to learn the general idea of how they work if you're curious.
Not an all-purpose device, though.
Illustrated Self-Guided Course on How to Use the Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31146003 - April 2022 (3 comments)
Everyone should learn the slide rule (2021) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31143274 - April 2022 (61 comments)
Why a Slide Rule Works - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30988667 - April 2022 (57 comments)
Slide Rule Simulator Emulator Replica Collection - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30955676 - April 2022 (11 comments)
Illustrated Self-Guided Course on How to Use the Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30524542 - March 2022 (2 comments)
Scales for building your own slide rule (1999) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28365923 - Aug 2021 (5 comments)
Slide Rules - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26054738 - Feb 2021 (26 comments)
The Tyler Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25360450 - Dec 2020 (3 comments)
The largest commercial cylindrical slide rule has a scale length of 24m - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25110407 - Nov 2020 (45 comments)
The Largest Commercial Cylindrical Slide Rule Has a Scale Length of 24m - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24070169 - Aug 2020 (7 comments)
An Interactive JavaScript Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24035379 - Aug 2020 (6 comments)
Illustrated Self-Guided Course On How To Use The Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24028351 - Aug 2020 (98 comments)
When Slide Rules Ruled (2006) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22396887 - Feb 2020 (1 comment)
The Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18281623 - Oct 2018 (132 comments)
The Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18253869 - Oct 2018 (1 comment)
Scales for building your own slide rule (1999) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14782836 - July 2017 (5 comments)
Illustrated Self-Guided Course on How to Use the Slide Rule (2012) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14480755 - June 2017 (14 comments)
Slide rule mentioned in Pepys' diary entry of May 5 1663 -
Fun to see this site show up on HN :)
[0] https://sliderulemuseum.com/Circular/Curtis_L-M_FrequencyRes...