At 12:35 AM 9/27/96 -0100, you wrote: >> >>One of the fascinations of dialling for me is the still-unexpected richness >>of the field, going beyond, as it does, the simple matter of an alternative >>to a clock. On this latter point, a clock is used for telling the time but >>also for measuring elapsed time - as an egg-timer does. Does anyone know of >>a gnomonic method or device to measure short periods of time (say, four and >>a half minutes) separately from telling the time ? >> >> > >I think the most accurate method for telling short time, is a Meridian Line >or similar instrument. If the Gnomon is very hight (say many meters) the >spot light on the floor goes slow, and you can mesure minutes and seconds. > In San Petronio church of Bologna, the Gnomon is 27,07 meters. In the >Winter Solstice the spot light has a velocity of 0,314 meters in a minut. >
I once mentioned here that there is a fellow sundialer among us who can perform such measurements with extreme precision and using much shorter gnomons. His name is Bill Maddux. I do not dare to publish his method even if I am sure he would not mind. He has the privilege to do it himself. Hey Bill are you listening? I am really sure that your method is worth publication if not pattenting. And paying the tribute to our ancestors. They were able to obtain quite a precision thanks to their wits, patience and long bases of measurement. - Slawek Grzechnik
