Not as clumsy or random as a computer
... an elegant instrument for a more civilized age ...
(Obi-Wan Kenobi)
(last update: 11
th March 2020)
Collection of Slide Rule replicas
Slide rules are not manufactured anymore.
The ones, which still exist, will eventually deteriorate with time.
Here you will find a collection of some of the most prominent models
carefully hand-crafted and simulated (or emulated) in
JavaScript.
It is a Slide Rule Simulator or Emulator
All the scales are programmatically drawn based on
reverse enginered mathematical equations.
As such,
no images are used for visualisation (only some decorations).
And this is why those simulations are of the highest quality.
This is also why the word "replica" is quite appropriate for those simulations.
All the replicas can be yours right now, totally free.
All you need to do is to
download the whole lot
and they are yours forever.
(Technical information: all replicas can work without any active internet connection and as such, they are digitally safe. The code is hosted on
www.github.com.)
In random order:
Quick manual
- Drag rule or cursor with mouse.
- Use mouse wheel to zoom-in or zoom-out.
- Click on checkboxes for appropriate actions.
- Right-click on cursor or on scale to enter digital values for automation. You can:
- Enter integer or floating-point value, i.e.: 3.14 (use either dot or comma to separate fraction)
- Enter degrees using ":", i.e.: 2:30:26
- Enter pre-defined constants:
pi |
pi0 |
pi1 |
pi2 |
e0 |
e |
e1 |
e2 |
c |
π = 3.14159.... |
π / 10 = 0.31416.... |
π × 10 = 31.41593.... |
π × 100 = 314.15927.... |
e = 2.71828.... |
e / 10 = 0.27183.... |
e × 10 = 27.18282.... |
e × 100 = 271.82818.... |
√(4/π) = 1.12838.... |
r |
r0 |
r1 |
r2 |
r3 |
r10 |
re |
q |
c1 |
18/π = 5.72958.... |
1.8/π = 0.57296.... |
180/π = 57.29578.... |
√2 = 1.41421.... |
√3 = 1.73205.... |
√10 = 3.16228.... |
10/e = 3.67879.... |
π/1.8 = 1.74533.... |
√(40/π) = 3.56825.... |
- Chemical scale may have additional constans. Use air, co2, h2o, water, etc...
- To move cursor to additional hairline, press and hold CTRL key while right-clicking on scale and hairline.
- To move slide to additional hairline, press and hold CTRL with SHIFT while right-clicking on scale and hairline.
- If you right-click very close to either left or right index, then slide or cursor will move to this index instead.
- You can download
the entire collection to your computer and run locally (without internet connection).
- The source code is hosted publicly at www.github.com.
You can clone the entire repository (rather than downloading the ZIP) if GIT is your preferred version control software.
- Once you download (or clone) the entire collection you can start building your own models.
Simply, open one of the models in text editor, see how it is constructed and enjoy coding.
(Yes, you will need some JavaScript and HTML skills.)
.... but how do you use a slide rule anyway?
Some of the replicas carry an interactive tutorial, where you can also practice using a slide rule.
In particular, you can use the
Raven and the
Templar for learning.
However, there is also a
training game included, where you are required to pass some slide rule tests.
As you progress through the tests new and more complex slide rules are available for you to practice.
The game is accompanied by completely fabricated stories, just for fun.
There are also numerous tutorials freely available online.
Source
These slide rules were synthesized by
Dr Robert P. Wolf, Australia.