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Heh. Slide rule inaccuracy.	by taitano	2010-01-04 14:17:02
This thing's pretty good for $20. But, I tried calculating the circumference of the earth just for fun and got a wrong(albeit by less than 1%) answer. I put A-scale pi at the 7.92 mark on the B-scale. The B-scale reads (log2)2.52 instead of (log2)2.48. This added about 400 miles to the Earth's circumference, LOL. It's still faster than using a calculator though; at least for me it is. I know that's not a significant amount(0.25% +/-) - it got us to the moon and could find a small buoy anchored in the middle of the Pacific - but the $200(at time of purchase) slide rule I inherited from Grandpa L put the line right on the money at 2.49. I don't know why, but I found it very amusing. Then I laughed at myself for a) remembering that about G'pa's slide rule, b) spotting the difference and c) knowing the correct answer almost instinctively. Wow. The only thing between me and Nerdom is social awkwardness. =D
[ Reply ]
I remember having a digital calculator	by Concept	2010-01-04 14:21:50
That's actually pretty standard.	by kelli217	2010-01-04 14:57:11
Hmmm...well, this was a while back, so that	by Concept	2010-01-04 15:52:38
snerk so it does (n/t)	by Intrinsic	2010-01-04 20:43:10
bah - Marchant FTW	by basher20	2010-01-04 14:36:43
Odd behavior or I forgot how to read a slide rule	by tallastro	2010-01-04 14:54:11
Reading it wrong...?	by kelli217	2010-01-04 15:15:11
facepalm LOL, okay I see what I was doing wrong.	by taitano	2010-01-04 15:27:20
You're welcome.	by kelli217	2010-01-04 15:32:24
It's been fifteen years since I last used the one	by taitano	2010-01-04 15:39:43
Ok, I have my physical slide rule now. All good.	by tallastro	2010-01-04 17:40:59
Slide rules generally only give approximates.	by themadkansan	2010-01-04 15:05:12
Slide rule accuracy	by run.dll	2010-01-04 15:07:10
See my response to tallastro below.	by kelli217	2010-01-04 15:23:25
You've computed 7.92/pi = 2.52E-1.	by pas51	2010-01-04 15:30:58
s/2.52E-1/2.52/	by kelli217	2010-01-04 15:35:03
Real estate agents want you!	by firehawk	2010-01-04 16:38:29

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