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SPECIAL AND PURPOSE
BUILT SLIDE RULES

Often slide rules were manufactured for special purposes. The uses could range from special aerial photography slide rules to those used for electronics, conversions, concreting and a whole host of other applications.

Some slide rules had special and sometimes rather strange or obscure scales on them like the decimal keeper versions.

In this area we look at some of these slide rules and how to use them.

 

 

 

 
 

LOCATING THE DECIMAL POINT
Many attempts have been made to help the slide rule use locate the decimal point in their answer. Some methods are easier to use than others, but all users eventually settle with what they are comfortable with and a common form is the use of scientific notation.

Most manufacturers came up with some device or method to keep track of the decimal point and some rather interesting slide rules were produced. For a more detailed paper on this topic check the Journal of the Oughtred Society, Special Issue 2007 and the article by Edwin Chamberlain; "Slide Rule Decimal Point Location Methods".