On the History of Gunter's Scale and the Slide Rule During the Seventeenth CenturyCajori, Florian
History
On the History of Gunter's Scale and the Slide Rule During the Seventeenth Century
Cajori, Florian
Slide-rule
After elaborating this last point and explaining the decimal subdivisions
on the scales of the movable circle, he says that “the numbers and
divisions on the fixed Circle, are the very same that the moveable are, .
.” There is no drawing of the slide rule in this publication. The
twenty-two numbered pages give explanations of the various uses to which
the instrument can be put: “How to performe the Golden Rule” (pp. 1-3),
“Further uses of the Golden Rule” (pp. 4-6), “Notions or Principles
touching the disposing or ordering of the Numbers in the Golden Rule in
their true places upon the Grammelogia” (pp. 7-11), “How to divide one
number by another” (pp. 12, 13), “to multiply one Number by another” (pp.
14, 15), “To find Numbers in continuall proportion” (pp. 16, 17), “How to
extract the Square Root,” “How to extract the Cubicke Root” (pp. 18-21),
“How to performe the Golden Rule” (the rule of proportion) is explained
thus:
Seeke the first number in the moveable, and bring it to the second number
in the fixed, so right against the third number in the moveable, is the
answer in the fixed.
If the Interest of 100. li. be 8. li. in the yeare, what is the Interest
of 65. li. for the same time.
Bring 100. in the moveable to 8. in the fixed, so right against 65. in
the moveable is 5.2. in the fixed, and so much is the Interest of 65. li.
for the yeare at 8. li. for 100. li. per annum.
The Instrument not removed, you may at one instant right against any
summe of money in the moveable, see the Interest thereof in the fixed:
the reason of this is from the Definition of Logarithmes.
These are the earliest known printed instructions on the use of a slide
rule. It will be noticed that the description of the instrument at the
opening makes no references to logarithmic lines for the trigonometric
functions; only the line of numbers is given. Yet the title-page promised
the “resolution of Plaine and Sphericall Triangles.” Page 22 throws light
upon this matter:
If there be composed three Circles of equal thicknesse, A.B.C. so that
the inner edge of D [should be B] and the outward edge of A bee
answerably graduated with Logarithmall signes [sines], and the outward
edge of B and the inner edge of A with Logarithmes; and then on the
backside be graduated the Logarithmall Tangents, and againe the
Logarithmall signes oppositly to the former graduations, it shall be
fitted for the resolution of Plaine and Sphericall Triangles.
After twelve lines of further remarks on this point he adds:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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