High School Relativator: The circular slide-rule for physicists

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The discussion centers on the Relativator, a circular slide-rule designed for calculations related to Einstein's special relativity, featured in the Dec 2005/Jan 2006 issue of Symmetry magazine. The device allowed users to perform complex calculations before the advent of calculators. Participants suggest that there is enough detail available to create a digital version, potentially as Postscript, SVG pages, or a Java applet. The conversation also references a related blog post for further exploration of the topic. The Relativator serves as a historical artifact illustrating the intersection of physics and practical calculation tools.
robphy
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Relativator
(Posted Feb10-06 at 10:39 PM by robphy).

The Dec 2005/Jan 2006 issue of Fermilab/SLAC's publication http://www.symmetrymag.org/cms/ has a story http://www.symmetrymag.org/cms/?pid=1000234, "A circular slide-rule [which] allowed enthusiasts to perform calculations of Einstein's special relativity in a pre-calculator era."

[updated link: https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/december-2005january-2006/artifact-relativator ]
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There's probably enough detail to make your own, say, as a set of Postscript or SVG pages... or maybe as a Java applet!

See also
http://entropybound.blogspot.com/2006/01/artifact-relativator.html


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Actually... I just revisited this a month ago when I was browsing through my files.
 
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