Vernier scales on undergraduate teaching instruments such as calipers and spectrometers are being replaced by digital readouts, so students encounter Vernier scales less often. But students are often impressed by the results achievable by such a simple device, that such a simple idea escaped realization until the 17th century, and that, four centuries later, it has still not been completely superseded. Why do science and engineering still use a technology essentially unchanged since the 1630s? The Vernier scale’s success and its decline can be under-stood by examining how it relates to other devices with which it competes. This article surveys early technologies for precision length and angle measurement as a resource for teachers and students interested in the Vernier scale’s origins,competitors, and long success.
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