Talk:Tachymeter
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[edit] logarithmic scale??
- A tachymeter is also used as the name of a logarithmic scale sometimes inscribed around the rim of an analog watch.
Can someone good at math check this sentence? Kowloonese 00:24, 16 May 2006 (UTC)
The scale is not logarithmic, but rather an inverse function y = 3600/x, where y is the tachymetre reading (400, 300, 240, ... 60), and x is the number of seconds elapsed. It's supposed to allow the user to perform a quick reference to determine the rate of an arbitrary activity in units per hour by simply counting the number of seconds it takes for one unit to occur. For example, if it takes 30 seconds for a car to travel a mile, you can quickly refer to the tachymetre reading at 30 seconds, which is 120, indicating the average speed of the car was 120 miles per hour (since 120 = 3600/30). Note, on most or all watches this formula only holds true if x is less than or equal to 60 seconds. Interestingly, the derivative with respect to x of the logarithmic function ln(x) is 1/x, which may have caused the confusion or lent it some very far fetched credibility. josheisenberg@yahoo.com
[edit] Scale misleading?
Regarding the illustration, rather than 1 to 12 (the hours increments), shoudn't the scale be 5 to 60 (seconds increments)? Body text states that the minimum valid seconds is 7, and the hand points (confusingly I think) to 7, which is actually 35 (seconds)- Leonard G. 04:02, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
I refined the image to show seconds, and added an appropriate title reenforcing the body text. - Leonard G. 18:00, 26 November 2006 (UTC)
