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A variety of rulers
A ruler, sometimes called a rule or line gauge, is a straightedge with equally spaced markings
along its length.[1] It is used in geometry, technical drawing, engineering and building to measure
distances or to rule straight lines.
Contents
[hide]
1Types
2Ruler applications in geometry
3History
4Curved and flexible rulers
5Philosophy
6See also
7References
8Bibliography
Types[edit]
Gilded bronze ruler. 1 chi = 23.1 cm (9.1 in). Western Han (206 BCE – 8 CE). Hanzhong City, China
Bronze ruler. Han dynasty, 206 BCE – 220 CE. Excavated in Zichang County, China
Rulers have long been made from different materials and in a wide range of sizes. Some are
wooden. Plastics have also been used since they were invented; they can be molded with length
markings instead of being scribed. Metal is used for more durable rulers for use in the workshop;
sometimes a metal edge is embedded into a wooden desk ruler to preserve the edge when used for
straight-line cutting. 12 inches or 30 cm in length is useful for a ruler to be kept on a desk to help in
drawing. Shorter rulers are convenient for keeping in a pocket.[2] Longer rulers, e.g., 18 inches
(45 cm) are necessary in some cases. Rigid wooden or plastic yardsticks, 1 yard long, and meter
sticks, 1 meter long, are also used. Classically, long measuring rods were used for larger projects,
now superseded by tape measure or laser rangefinders.
Desk rulers are used for three main purposes: to measure, to aid in drawing straight lines and as a
straight guide for cutting and scoring with a blade. Practical rulers have distance markings along
their edges.
A line gauge is a type of ruler used in the printing industry. These may be made from a variety of
materials, typically metal or clear plastic. Units of measurement on a basic line gauge usually include
inches, agate, picas, and points. More detailed line gauges may contain sample widths of lines,
samples of common type in several point sizes, etc.
Measuring instruments similar in function to rulers are made portable by folding (carpenter's folding
rule) or retracting into a coil (metal tape measure) when not in use. When extended for use, they are
straight, like a ruler. The illustrations on this page show a 2 m (6 ft 7 in) carpenter's rule, which folds
down to a length of 24 cm (9 in) to easily fit in a pocket, and a 5 m (16 ft) tape, which retracts into a
small housing.
A flexible length measuring instrument which is not necessarily straight in use is the tailor's fabric
tape measure, a length of tape calibrated in inches and centimeters. It is used to measure around a
solid body, e.g., a person's waist measurement, as well as linear measurement, e.g., inside leg. It is
rolled up when not in use, taking up little space.
A contraction rule is made having larger divisions than standard measures to allow for shrinkage of a
metal casting. They may also be known as a shrinkage or shrink rule.[3]
A ruler software program can be used to measure pixels on a computer screen or mobile phone.
These programs are also known as screen rulers.
History[edit]
A wooden carpenter's rule and other tools found on board the 16th century carrack Mary Rose
In the history of measurement many distance units have been used which were based on human
body parts such as the cubit, hand and foot and these units varied in length by era and location.[4] In
the late 18th century the metric system came into use and has been adopted to varying degrees in
almost all countries in the world. The oldest preserved measuring rod is a copper-alloy bar that dates
from c.2650 BCE and was found by the German Assyriologist Eckhard Unger while excavating at
Nippur. Rulers made of Ivory were in use by the Indus Valley Civilization period prior to
1500 BCE.[5] Excavations at Lothal (2400 BCE) have yielded one such ruler calibrated to
about 1⁄16inch (1.6 mm).[5] Ian Whitelaw holds that the Mohenjo-Daro ruler is divided into units
corresponding to 1.32 inches (33.5 mm) and these are marked out in decimal subdivisions with
amazing accuracy, to within 0.005 inches (0.13 mm). Ancient bricks found throughout the region
have dimensions that correspond to these units.[6]
Anton Ullrich invented the folding ruler in 1851. Frank Hunt later made the flexible ruler in 1902.[7]
Philosophy[edit]
Ludwig Wittgenstein famously used rulers as an example in his discussion of language games in
the Philosophical Investigations. He pointed out that the standard meter bar in Paris was the criterion
against which all other rulers were determined to be one meter long, but that there was no analytical
way to demonstrate that the standard meter bar itself was one meter long. It could only be asserted
as one meter as part of a language game.
See also[edit]
science portal
References[edit]
1. Jump
up^ https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/ruler
2. Jump up^ "Steel Rule Has Pocket Clip For Use As A Depth
Gauge", Popular Science, December 1935, p. 887 bottom right.
3. Jump up^ Contraction rule. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
4. Jump up^ Klein, Herbert A. The science of measurement: a historical
survey. Reprint, unabridged, corr. republ. der Ausg. New York, Simon
& Schuster, 1974. ed. New York, NY: Dover, 1988. Print.
5. ^ Jump up to:a b Whitelaw, p. 14.
6. Jump up^ Whitelaw, p. 15.
7. Jump up^ "Flexible Ruler Invented by Frank G. Hunt". National
Museum of National History. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
8. Jump up^ "lesbian, adj. and n.". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd
ed.). Oxford University Press. September 2005. (Subscription or UK
public library membership required.) (subscription required)
Bibliography[edit]
Cherry, Dan. "Collector's guide to rules", Furniture &
Cabinetmaking, no. 259, July 2017, ISSN 1365-4292, pp. 52–6
Rees, Jane and Mark (2010). The Rule Book: Measuring for the
Trades. Lakeville, MN: Astragal Press ISBN 978-1-931626-26-
2 OCLC 907853704
Russell, David R.; with photography by James Austin and foreword
by David Linley (2010). Antique Woodworking Tools: Their
Craftsmanship from the Earliest Times to the Twentieth Century,
Cambridge: John Adamson ISBN 978-1-898565-05-
5 OCLC 727125586, pp. 64–74
Whitelaw, Ian (2007). A Measure of All Things: The Story of Man
and Measurement. Macmillan ISBN 0-312-37026-
1 OCLC 938084552
Look up ruler in
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Metalworking
Categories:
Inventions of the Indus Valley Civilisation
Length, distance, or range measuring devices
Metalworking measuring instruments
Stationery
Stonemasonry tools
Woodworking measuring instruments
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This page was last edited on 3 April 2018, at 11:53.
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