What is that? 1

[ajack1]

One of the guys in my office took early retirement a couple of years ago but still does bits of part time work when we are busy. To this day for basic calculations he still uses a slide rule.

One of the junior members of staff came in and asked him what he was doing “playing around” with a rule and when he started to show him he thought he was winding him up, he had never seen or heard of a slide rule. Whilst it has been many years since using a slide rule or log tables, sine tables etc, I guess I just thought people would know what they were.

So am I just getting old (I actually know the answer to that) or what else don’t the up and coming engineers of tomorrow know about? With digital read outs can they still read a vernier, or even a micrometer?

Anyone else been asked what is that?

 

[BigH]

arunmrao - when I was in college doing a slope stability analysis, we had to check the work of other students. The guy I had, using method of slices for 1"=40" reported the total weight of a slice to the nearest 0.1 lb.! And the surveyors here in West Bengal (Howrah) like to report footing bottom to the nearest mm! SlideRuleEra - the first calculator I saw was one by Monroe! - my dad was thinking about buying it; add,subtract,multiply,divide,sqrt - all for $250 USD (1970) - I think it was the sqrt that jacked up the price!

 

[andyenergy]

I've got an abacus.

 

[Maui]

For those of you who are interested in reading more about mechanical analog computers, I suggest that you browse through thread769-28286.


Maui

Constants aren't; variables won't.

 

[arunmrao]

BjgH,
I have a drawing for a welded wire fabrication,(for a high way project)this is 9 metres long and the accuracy is +/- 5mm!!! I am yet to start on this work

 

[GregLocock]

What temperature was that at?

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[BigH]

arunmrao - which project? where? I'm in WB.

 

[arunmrao]

For karnataka projects. Iknow you are a Canadian Engineer nowin WB. This will be a new venture for me as I am involved in making bearings for this company for a railway bridge in Bihar.

Hope if you travel south we may meet.

 

[CanEngJohn]

Born in '71 - have three slide rules. Little rusty but I can use them.

Micrometers are daily and I know enough to know that I use Calipers with a vernier scale on them. I do NOT use verniers and do not acknowledge they exist.

Calipers can be used as well as Vernier Scales. I am still trying to figure out what a vernier is (1/100th of a vernier scale?)

 

[25362]

Named after its inventor Pierre Vernier (1584-1638) a vernier is a short, auxiliary scale which slides along the main instrument scale to permit accurate fractional reading of the least main division of the main scale.

A vernier dial: a tuning dial in which each complete rotation of the control knob causes only a fraction of a revolution of the main shaft, permitting fine and accurate adjustment.

There are also vernier engines, vernier capacitors, vernier sextants, vernier calipers.

For an example see

www.tpub.com/math1/7e.htm​

 

[SomptingGuy]

BUT, as CanEngJohn is pointing out, there is no such thing as "a Vernier". There are Vernier scales on many instruments though.

 

[25362]

The auxiliary scale is the vernier.