Larry's Planimeter Platter

Years in the making, the Planimeter Platter represents a peculiar achievement in world history: so much stuff about the polar planimeter that you've got to wonder what Larry was thinking. “You got me hangin',” says Larry, “I pretty much just dug into something so obscure that it took forever to describe.” Well, that pretty much says it all.

The Planimeter Simulation - demonstrates the planimeter, the geometric areas it measures, and the planimeter's wheel reading as the user traces a number of samples; the simulation allows the planimeter's dimensions to be altered and measurements scaled.
The Planimeter Simulation Guide - describes the planimeter mechanically and mathematically, and the use of the simulation.
The Polar Planimeter - a book by J. Y. Wheatley, 1903, describes the real instrument and how it was used.

The Planimeter Applet - the original simulation as a Java applet, which is no longer supported in most browsers.
If you want to take the simulations home with you, you need:
- For the Javascript simulation, the simulation's page and the Javascript source.
- For the Java applet, the applet's page (or something like it) and the applet executable.
- You can have the applet source too, no charge. The code was written in 2000, an integer math tour de force.
- Maybe the map also (which wants to be in a subdirectory named "data").

Outside Links

Planimeters at the Museum of HP Calculators - some description and photographs (and other cool stuff)
Planimeters - very accessible descriptions, and links
The Planimeter - intuitive approach to planimeter mathematics
Planimeter - at wikipedia.

There are many academic sites with planimeter explanations, which after a few years inexplicably disappear.
You can buy planimeters on-line from the usual suspects, especially ebay.
Fixed-pole, mechanical-wheel planimeters are qualified as mechanical planimeters to distinguish them from more modern digitial planimeters.

Larry Leinweber, Proprietor

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