Re: 3-D gnomon for Polar Dial
Hi Mac et al, You are, of course, completely right - you can turn a polar dial around its gnomon to make allowance for the EoT - my humble apologies. It isn't intuitive (to me, at least) that this should work and I foolishly made my comment without experimenting or doing the maths. I have now done so and it is quickly clear that the distance of the shadow edge from the noon line is the height of the gnomon multiplied by the tan of (hour angle plus rotation angle of the dialplate). Question: does it become a declining polar dial once the dialplate is rotated?! The mechanics of making such a dial will be interesting if it is to be robust enough to survive the elements. Does anyone know of a real dial in a public place? Happy Hogmanay to all diallists, John Davis - Dr J R Davis Flowton Dials N52d 08m: E1d 05m -
Re: Blenheim dial??
Hi Fred et al, I too saw this posting and contacted the chap who posted it. From his description, this is definitely NOT one of the set of four dials that John Rowley made for Blenheim Palace c1710. In fact, I strongly suspect that what he has is one of the 20C Pearson-Page reproductions. If this is so, I would regard the Blenheim connection as added colour! Regards, John Davis --- from:Fred Sawyer [EMAIL PROTECTED] date:Mon, 30 Dec 2002 00:23:04 to: sundial@rrz.uni-koeln.de subject: Re: Blenheim dial?? The following message appears on the NASS message board: From Lance Steel ([EMAIL PROTECTED] I own a sundial made of bronze and engraved 1723. It was reputedly liberated from the grounds of Blenheim palace, Oxford, England during WW II. I have been trying to find pictures of the back of the palace taken prior to that date to see if the sundial is there. Can anyone advise as to where I may obtain further information on it? - Dr J R Davis Flowton Dials N52d 08m: E1d 05m -
Forwarding some questions, re. sundial 'equinox accuracy'
Our sundial business regularly receives questions via our Website, (mainly from pupils wanting us to help with school projects) - but I am forwarding this one to the Sundial Mailing List, as it is more unusual than normal. From: signelerin [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sun, 29 Dec 2002 16:30:15 -0600 My name is Signe Best, and I am hoping you will be able to answer a few questions I have about sundials and the shadows they cast at certain times of the year. I understand that the time of the equinox is the moment the sun's shadow becomes exact with the line of the equator making day and night of nearly equal length (12 hrs), and the exact point when winter becomes spring. The official equinox date varies from March 20-22 according to the US Naval Observatory. Will the literal observation of a sundial pinpoint more accurately than 3 days ? If this sundial was set up in Jerusalem, would it show the exact day that winter ends and spring begins ? Has anyone counted the days according to a sundial from the 1st day of spring one year to the 1st day of spring the next ? Will this always be the same amount of days ? Have you ever recorded the moment when winter ends and spring begins, from any sundial ? Was this the same day as the official equinox ? These questions are of a religious nature for me. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated, or perhaps you could direct me to someone who could help. Thank You, in advance ! Signe Best Maybe members of this Sundial Mailing List could E-mail direct to Signe, as well as 'copying' their thoughts to the list for the benefit of others. I shall take this opportunity to wish all members a very Happy New Year. Best Regards, Douglas Hunt. -- MODERN SUNCLOCKS - 'Human Sundials', using YOUR OWN SHADOW to tell time. Looking for a useful, decorative, yet UNIQUE feature ? - you've found it ! For further details and photographs, see our Website at: www.sunclocks.com Mail Address: 1 Love Street, Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland, KA13 7LQ, UK. Tel Fax (UK): 01294 552250. International Tel Fax: + 44 1294 552250. E-mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR [EMAIL PROTECTED] -
RE: corrupt IgNoble instruments
I presume that this dial was patterned after an equatorial dial with a polar gnomon. That's a good theory, Roger, but it doesn't explain why its latitude arm is graduated backwards and has too limited a range or degrees! This poor creature is like some Frankenstein's monster. But I am sure that you are right in general about people's expectations for the triangular gnomon. Cheers, Sara -
Re: corrupt IgNoble instruments
Like this one Roger? Click on: http://www.sundialsculptures.com/content/examples/thick-gnomon.html John John L. Carmichael Jr. Sundial Sculptures 925 E. Foothills Dr. Tucson Arizona 85718 USA Tel: 520-696-1709 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.sundialsculptures.com - Original Message - From: Roger Bailey [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: sundial@rrz.uni-koeln.de Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 9:23 PM Subject: RE: corrupt IgNoble instruments I presume that this dial was patterned after an equatorial dial with a polar gnomon. Sales were poor because it didn't look like a sundial. Don't sundials have a triangular thingy called a gnomon? When the triangular gnomon was added, sales increased dramatically. It now looked like a real sundial. John Carmichael and others should note this well. Think how your sales would soar if you added a triangular thingy to all your designs! They would then look like sundials. Cheers, Roger Bailey - - -
Re: Lady wants Polyhedral Dial
PREI have taken up the challenge of a desk-top polyhedral dial with Esther Hope and work is progressing nicely! She is very content with work done so far. David Brown -
Need Sundial Review Website
Hi Steve and others, I tried to make light talk about the little Frankenstein Sundial by The Nobel Collection in my first email (remember the hubbub over the DST human analemmatic?) but inside I was really pissed off for three reasons: 1. They cheated my friend, the person who gave it to me and who spent a lot of money. 2. I am in direct competition with this company, their product, and their glamorous false advertising. But I am playing by the rules and they are not. 3. They don't have an address that I can write to or a number to call. It was also upsetting that this is just another flawed sundial that we can add to a growing list of flawed sundials that are flooding our small sundial market. I couldn't agree more with Steve's concern about this and I also wonder about existing legislation. I think reputable sundial sellers and the buying public need a way to protect themselves from this sort thing. But perhaps there is a better way that wouldn't involve lawsuits. I know that before people buy anything, they like to read reviews of what's currently for sale in the industry. ( That's how I picked out my digital camera). The internet is LOADED with reviews for just about everything. Wouldn't it be nice to have a website of Sundial Reviews? It wouldn't have to be associated with NASS or BSS. The reviews could be written by a group of dialists and/or by customers. I know my idea for a Sundial Makers Association didn't float, but a website of Sundial Reviews would be a lot less ambitious and very effective. Just a Thought John p.s. If anybody wants to see a close-up photo of the Nobel Frankenstein Sundial and a scan of their signed Certificate of Authenticity that I dug out of the trash, tell me and I'll sent you an attachment. I'm mad! John L. Carmichael Jr. Sundial Sculptures 925 E. Foothills Dr. Tucson Arizona 85718 USA Tel: 520-696-1709 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.sundialsculptures.com - Original Message - From: Steve Lelievre [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: sundial@rrz.uni-koeln.de Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 1:04 PM Subject: Re: corrupt instruments Sara wrote (snipped)... One reader took me to task for my use of the word corrupt and perhaps others were equally puzzled. Well, I for one had no problem seeing it as corrupt (modern). But if we don't like corrupt, how about fraudulent? The site says the dial is ...an authentic replica ...exacting in detail...calibrated to count the hours by the sun's rays... Doesn't the US have any consumer protection legislation to say that products must be fit for the advertised purpose? Steve (original, snipped...) What bugs me about this kind of rubbish is that for all the effort that went into making the castings, the company could just as easily have made them right as wrongIs this just do to ignorance, laziness, or corruptness? - -
Re: Need Sundial Review Website
Hello John: A 'Whois on their web page turns up: Registrant: NOBLE COLLECTION (NOBLECOLLECTION4-DOM) 21731-B Filigree Ct. ASHBURN, VA 20147 US Domain Name: NOBLECOLLECTION.COM Administrative Contact: NOBLE COLLECTION (NC2808-ORG) [EMAIL PROTECTED] NOBLE COLLECTION 21731-B Filigree Ct. ASHBURN, VA 20147 US 703 858 4340 Fax- 703 858 4350 Technical Contact: HABIB, CHRISTINE-WN-JGEG (CHJ258) [EMAIL PROTECTED] NOBLE COLLECTION 21731-B Filigree Ct ASHBURN, VA 20147 703 858 4340 Brooke Clarke John Carmichael wrote: Hi Steve and others, I tried to make light talk about the little Frankenstein Sundial by The Nobel Collection in my first email (remember the hubbub over the DST human analemmatic?) but inside I was really pissed off for three reasons: 1. They cheated my friend, the person who gave it to me and who spent a lot of money. 2. I am in direct competition with this company, their product, and their glamorous false advertising. But I am playing by the rules and they are not. 3. They don't have an address that I can write to or a number to call. It was also upsetting that this is just another flawed sundial that we can add to a growing list of flawed sundials that are flooding our small sundial market. I couldn't agree more with Steve's concern about this and I also wonder about existing legislation. I think reputable sundial sellers and the buying public need a way to protect themselves from this sort thing. But perhaps there is a better way that wouldn't involve lawsuits. I know that before people buy anything, they like to read reviews of what's currently for sale in the industry. ( That's how I picked out my digital camera). The internet is LOADED with reviews for just about everything. Wouldn't it be nice to have a website of Sundial Reviews? It wouldn't have to be associated with NASS or BSS. The reviews could be written by a group of dialists and/or by customers. I know my idea for a Sundial Makers Association didn't float, but a website of Sundial Reviews would be a lot less ambitious and very effective. Just a Thought John p.s. If anybody wants to see a close-up photo of the Nobel Frankenstein Sundial and a scan of their signed Certificate of Authenticity that I dug out of the trash, tell me and I'll sent you an attachment. I'm mad! John L. Carmichael Jr. Sundial Sculptures 925 E. Foothills Dr. Tucson Arizona 85718 USA Tel: 520-696-1709 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.sundialsculptures.com - Original Message - From: Steve Lelievre [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: sundial@rrz.uni-koeln.de Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 1:04 PM Subject: Re: corrupt instruments Sara wrote (snipped)... One reader took me to task for my use of the word corrupt and perhaps others were equally puzzled. Well, I for one had no problem seeing it as corrupt (modern). But if we don't like corrupt, how about fraudulent? The site says the dial is ...an authentic replica ...exacting in detail...calibrated to count the hours by the sun's rays... Doesn't the US have any consumer protection legislation to say that products must be fit for the advertised purpose? Steve (original, snipped...) What bugs me about this kind of rubbish is that for all the effort that went into making the castings, the company could just as easily have made them right as wrongIs this just do to ignorance, laziness, or corruptness? - - -
