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KF5JRV > TECH 31.08.16 12:31l 45 Lines 2190 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 1174_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Catholic-Organon
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<HG8LXL<N0KFQ<KF5JRV
Sent: 160831/1120Z 1174@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQK1.4.65
A 'universal' slide rule? John Suxspeach's 'Catholic organon'
The proliferation of specialist slide rules in the eighteenth century inspired
schoolmaster John Suxspeach to create a universal one. This was designed to be
used in different disciplines and types of inquiry, and represents an early
attempt to enforce universal standards through instrumentation.
As with many mathematical instruments, John Suxspeach's 'Catholic-Organon, or
Universal Sliding Foot-Rule' originated as a personal device.
Working as a schoolmaster in Stepney, London, he was implored to make the
device available to the public, securing the first Royal Patent for a slide
rule in 1753.
The device itself was complex. It had a number of scales and carried two
sliders, each with brass inserts, which allowed it to be used as a protractor
or level. The hollow slider between the two main pieces was probably meant to
hold some kind of telescope.
Suxspeach's rule was manufactured by Benjamin Parker and came with an
extensive manual. Evidence suggests, however, that it was unsuccessful.
Because it was not particularly suited to one purpose, uneducated
professionals were not interested in mastering its use. Application-specific
rules had scales that were more legible, and their purposes were more readily
understood.
Standardising the slide rule
It was not until the 19th century that a true 'standard' slide rule was
produced. Victor Mayer Amédée Mannheimwas a student at the École d'Application
in Metz, France in 1859, when he came up with his idea for a standardized
slide rule for arithmetic calculations. His design was ten inches long and had
only four scales, along with a cursor that allowed the user to clearly align
numbers.
By the 20th century, precision manufacturing equipment greatly improved the
accuracy and consistency of rules produced to this design. Such rules came
into wide use as modern engineering and other physical sciences became further
established as professions. Whether the increased standardisation of
measurement caused or was caused by this broader economic shift is still an
open question.
73, Scott kf5jrv
KF5JRV @ KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
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