Mac Oglesby wrote: > Imagine that - a "dangerous" sundial! >
It has long been known in solar circles, a field noted for its abysmally low funding from government and private sources, that if we could just find a military use for solar energy we would have all the research money we could hope for! Well, if we could find a military use for sundials,....... Actually, the military HAS invested in sundials, for downed pilots during the Viet Nam war, as a crude means for determining latitude, longitude, and compass orientation, a kind of backwards use of a sundial, using the wristwatch for the time of day and the sundial for orienteering. I'm sure my facts are not quite perfect. I can't even remember the name of the NASS member who showed us his famous sundial at the Naval Academy in Annapolis and who invented this paper and needle dial for use by pilots. Anyone care to fill in my declining memory on this? Ross
