Do you need a need a new watch and want to ask Santa to bring one to you this year? If that’s your wish this holiday season, why not go with the most technological watch — and no, we’re not talking about a smart watch with WiFi, GPS, step tracker or the ability to check your Twitter account with the swipe of a finger.
The Slide Rule is a watch by Caliper Timepieces. The ‘Caliper Slide View’ combines a traditional self-winding mechanical watch with an icon of pre-electronic technology in its the slide rule.
Based on the looks of precision tools from the 50s and 60s, the circular view surrounding the watch face lets the wearer multiply and divide easily with its display. Also known as an analog computer, the slide rule dates back to the 17th century and became an important tool for engineers in Europe in the mid and late 1800s, but caught on in America post-World War II and helped NASA in its race to put a man on the moon. To get a result, the wearer would need to move the sliders to certain positions and read the numbers to find a result.
The Caliper Timepieces website gives a description and instructions on how to read the sliders and how to utilize the numbers for answers. In this example to multiply two numbers, align one of the numbers to the arrow at 1. Find the other number on the same ring as the arrow and read across to find the result.
8 Comments
Mike Graves
Wow. Very cool.
Chris
Very cool !
Thank you…
Johnny
Thanks again Mark, always interesting. Didn’t have a clue these even existed.
Stanley Sizeler
I used a slide rule daily in my college(1950’s) chemistry, physics, and related hard science areas, and again used it for all kinds of calculations when I was in the USAF. The small pocket calculators and various personal computers had not been invented then. It was use the slide rule and logarithms or spend hours with paper and pencil. The NASA people did the same thing at that time. Many of today’s students do not know what it is.
Stan
Bobby
And the best thing – it does not need batteries!
BTW some mechanical calculators are still in the inventory of some mobile ICBM stations. They will still work to calculate some trajectory numbers needed for the launch regardless of the EMI caused by a possible enemy nuclear explosion nearby. All electronics would be knocked out but as far as there is someone to turn the crank the calculator will work! So will work this watch logarithmic fuller! It could be a good sabstitute for the mechanical calculators in the army!
Chuck tortorice
Mark,
this is one of your most fascinating posts yet.
I’m like a few others who’ve replied,I didn’t know such a watch exists.
You’re right, it would make a great Christmas present.
Mike Meyers
Very interesting. My father, an Engineer, bought me a circular slide rule in high school (1967), made my life way easier,
What a cool idea to incorporate it into a watch.
Your articles always inform!! Please keep it up.
Mark Morgan
What Next great post.