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Gilson Binary Circular Slide Rule

National Museum of American History

Object Details

Gilson Slide Rule Company
Description
This two-sided aluminum circular slide rule is coated with white celluloid enamel. The front has two interlocking yellow-green plastic arms, pivoted at the center with a metal nut and bolt with metal washers on both front and back. The back has one rotating arm. Thirteen circles of scales are on the front, including C (for multiplication, division, and proportion), CI (C inverted), A (squares), K (cubes), logarithms, a spiral log-log scale (marked from 1.0015 to 1,000,000), two binary scales for adding and subtracting fractions, a scale of drill sizes, a scale of thread sizes, and millimeters. The front is marked near the center: THE BINARY SLIDE RULE (/) MADE IN U.S.A. (/) COPYRIGHTED 1940.
Three concentric circles forming a scale of degrees, sines, and tangents are on the back. Inside this scale is a chart for decimal equivalents of fractions. The back is marked: COPYRIGHTED (/) 1931 (/) GILSON SLIDE RULE CO. (/) STUART, FLA. The sets of scales are almost the same as those on 1998.0119.01 and 1989.0032.01, which are both Gilson Midget circular slide rules, but the scale of thread sizes is in United States Form instead of United States Standard. Because it does not have alternating yellow and white stripes, this rule is unusual for a Gilson Binary slide rule. There is a case for this rule.
References: Sphere Research Corporation, "Gilson Binary/Atlas Circular Slide Rule Operating Information," http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/circular-man2.html; Clippings Scrapbook, page 82, Cummings Library, Palm City, Fla.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Gift of Lewis H. Strauss
after 1940
ID Number
1979.0816.01
catalog number
1979.0816.01
accession number
1979.0816
Object Name
calculating rule
slide rule
Physical Description
aluminum (overall material)
celluloid (cursor material)
metal (part material)
Measurements
overall: 21.5 cm x 21.5 cm x 1.5 cm; 8 15/32 in x 8 15/32 in x 19/32 in
place made
United States: Florida, Stuart
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Science & Mathematics
Slide Rules
National Museum of American History
Subject
Rule, Calculating
Mathematics
Record ID
nmah_1127889
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-905e-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

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Gilson Binary Circular Slide Rule with Case
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