Without using another ruler, isn't that almost impossible. How was the first ruler made then??
2007-02-07 11:51:34 · 8 answers · asked by amers 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Despite several smart-*** answers, I like this question. It's one I've asked myself.
Those who say a ruler isn't perfectly straight are correct, but the question I think you're asking is "where did the first straight edge come from?"
I honestly don't know that I can answer that despite wondering about it several times for years. I mean, in the modern age we have command over lasers and other forces unknown to the ancients. I'm guessing in centuries past, it was merely a matter of restricting the cutting motion of a tool to one axis, so that as you slide the tool (or the material) along the cutting edge, it can't wander from side to side. (Picture a board being pushed across a table saw.)
Still water is always level, but I'm not sure how that translates into a useful resource for creating a straight-edge. And you don't see many straight lines in nature -- rocks, plants, and trees -- that I can think of.
I'm afraid I don't have time to give it further thought, for now, but I wonder how many others who dismiss your question could really answer it once they realize they ultimately have to *start from scratch.*
2007-02-07 15:29:46 · answer #1 · answered by Question Mark 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Come on everybody, lets not concentrate on the "perfectly" part of this question.
I don't know for sure how the first ruler was made, but the link below gives some hints. You start with 3 almost straight pieces, and rub them against each other, 2 at a time. The rubbing tells you where the pieces have "hill" and "valleys". You then scrape away the hills, and keep doing this with the pairs 1&2, 2&3, 3&1. After a while, the pieces will slide over each other, with no hills or valleys that you can detect.
2007-02-07 12:10:09 · answer #2 · answered by morningfoxnorth 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Are you joking?
There is no such thing as a "perfectly straight" ruler. Think about it! For the same reason as there is no such thing as a perfectly round circle. They've gotten pretty close (and by pretty close I mean absurdly precise). In the old times through trial and error and today through computers, lasers and a plethora of other technology- but the same holds true even now- a physical straightedge is never entirely straight.
2007-02-07 11:57:42 · answer #3 · answered by Sir Drew M 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
no rulers are straight...even to the last nanometer
lol rulers arent the only straight things on earth jeez
thats like saying "which came first the chicken or the egg"
2007-02-07 11:54:25 · answer #4 · answered by Joey 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The only way to keep a ruler straight is to have someone with honesty and integrity, who treats their subjects with fairness and respect. Saddam Hussein wasn't a straight ruler, and look what happened to him.
2007-02-07 11:55:43 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You don't need a ruler to get a straight edge. Use a book, table anything. Besides unless you get down to a molecular/atomic level and shave off those extra molecules/atoms you won't get a perfectly straight line
2007-02-07 11:55:03 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Man, that's deep...someone with a really steady hand must've made the first ruler. :P
Seriously, though...straight lines occur all over the place. Try folding over a sheet of paper, for one...
2007-02-07 11:54:57 · answer #7 · answered by chrisatmudd 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a steamroller.
2007-02-07 11:58:43 · answer #8 · answered by deziray79 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋