A ruler, sometimes called a rule, scale, line gauge, or metre/meter stick, is an instrument used to make length measurements, whereby a length is read from a series of markings called "rules" along an edge of the device.
Variants
Rulers have long been made from different materials and in multiple sizes. Historically, they were mainly
wood but
plastics have also been used. They can be created with length markings instead of being . Metal is also 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. Typically in length, though some can go up to 100 cm, it is useful for a ruler to be on a desk or workstation to help in drawing. Shorter rulers are convenient for keeping in a pocket.
[ "Steel Rule Has Pocket Clip For Use As A Depth Gauge", Popular Science, December 1935, p. 887 bottom right.] Longer rulers (e.g. ) are necessary in some cases, some examples being the
and
. Historically, long
were used for larger projects, now superseded by the
tape measure, the surveyor's wheel or laser rangefinders.
Use in geometry
In geometry, straight lines between points may be drawn using a straightedge (ruler without any rules on it). Furthermore, it is also used to draw accurate graphs and tables.
A ruler and compass construction is a construction that uses a ruler and a compass. It is possible to bisect an angle into two equal parts with a ruler and compass. It can be proven, though, that it is impossible to divide an angle into three equal parts using only a compass and straightedge — the problem of angle trisection. However, if two marks be allowed on the ruler, the problem becomes solvable via a neusis construction.
History
In the history of measurement many distance units have been used which were based on the human body such as the
cubit, hand and foot, and these units varied in length by era and location.
[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.] In the late 18th century, the
Metrication came into use and has since been adopted to varying degrees in almost all countries around the world.
The oldest preserved measuring rod is a copper-alloy bar that dates from 2650 BC and was found by the German Assyriologist Eckhard Unger while excavating at the Sumer of Nippur (present-day Iraq).
Rulers made of ivory were in use by the Indus Valley civilization period prior to 1500 BC.[Whitelaw, p. 14.] Ian Whitelaw holds that the Mohenjo-Daro ruler is divided into units corresponding to and these are marked out in decimal subdivisions with amazing accuracy, to within . Ancient bricks found throughout the region have dimensions that correspond to these units.[Whitelaw, p. 15.]
Anton Ullrich invented the folding ruler in 1851. Frank Hunt later made the flexible ruler in 1902.
Curved and flexible rulers
The equivalent of a ruler for drawing or reproducing a smooth curve, where it takes the form of a rigid template, is known as a
French curve. A flexible device that can be bent to the desired shape is known as a
flat spline, or (in its more modern incarnation) a
flexible curve. Historically, a flexible
lead rule used by
masonry that could be bent to the curves of a molding was known as a
lesbian rule.
[ ]
Philosophy
Ludwig Wittgenstein famously used rulers as an example in his discussion of
Language-game in the
Philosophical Investigations (1953). 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. However, 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
Bibliography
-
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
-
Russell, David R.; with photography by James Austin and foreword by David Linley (2010). , Cambridge: John Adamson , pp. 64–74
-
Whitelaw, Ian (2007). A Measure of All Things: The Story of Man and Measurement. Macmillan
