How fun. I also found this when I was looking to learn a bit about how to operate a slide rule a friend gave me:

http://www.sliderule.ozmanor.com/srmanl.html

They're really interesting items and of course can be gotten for a couple bucks at any antique knick-knack shop. It's worth taking an hour or two to learn the general idea of how they work if you're curious.

When I joined the USN in 1975 the first course I was given in Nuclear Power School was how to use a slide rule. When I told my dad this he gave me his beautiful K&N slide rule with a great hard leather case. He's gone but the slide rule sits safely on a closet shelf.

My aunt donated my grandpa‘s old slide rule there some time ago [0]. Crazy how far we came in just two generations.

Fun to see this site show up on HN :)

[0] https://sliderulemuseum.com/Circular/Curtis_L-M_FrequencyRes...

If you only want an approximate answer, and you have a slide rule handy (there are two big ifs), and it's a problem the slide rule is built to handle, then it's probably speed-competitive with a calculator. Maybe faster.

Not an all-purpose device, though.

Ok, let's do this

Illustrated Self-Guided Course on How to Use the Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31146003 - April 2022 (3 comments)

Everyone should learn the slide rule (2021) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31143274 - April 2022 (61 comments)

Why a Slide Rule Works - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30988667 - April 2022 (57 comments)

Slide Rule Simulator Emulator Replica Collection - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30955676 - April 2022 (11 comments)

Illustrated Self-Guided Course on How to Use the Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30524542 - March 2022 (2 comments)

Scales for building your own slide rule (1999) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28365923 - Aug 2021 (5 comments)

Slide Rules - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26054738 - Feb 2021 (26 comments)

The Tyler Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25360450 - Dec 2020 (3 comments)

The largest commercial cylindrical slide rule has a scale length of 24m - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25110407 - Nov 2020 (45 comments)

The Largest Commercial Cylindrical Slide Rule Has a Scale Length of 24m - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24070169 - Aug 2020 (7 comments)

An Interactive JavaScript Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24035379 - Aug 2020 (6 comments)

Illustrated Self-Guided Course On How To Use The Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24028351 - Aug 2020 (98 comments)

When Slide Rules Ruled (2006) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22396887 - Feb 2020 (1 comment)

The Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18281623 - Oct 2018 (132 comments)

The Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18253869 - Oct 2018 (1 comment)

Scales for building your own slide rule (1999) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14782836 - July 2017 (5 comments)

Illustrated Self-Guided Course on How to Use the Slide Rule (2012) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14480755 - June 2017 (14 comments)

Slide rule mentioned in Pepys' diary entry of May 5 1663 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11641273 - May 2016 (1 comment)

Moonstick – Slide rule moon phase calendar - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9769127 - June 2015 (5 comments)

David's calculating sticks: collection of slide rules - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7951351 - June 2014 (4 comments)

The Three Slide Rule - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2990571 - Sept 2011 (38 comments)

Are slide rules still useful? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2436873 - April 2011 (33 comments)

Geek out old school: Virtual slide rules - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=153017 - April 2008 (2 comments)

Others?