Hello All I've made measurements, drawings and a working model of my proposed sundial adaptation of the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona and am submitting a proposal to Kitt Peak officials soon. I'll also be giving a short talk on this giant sundial at the NASS conference.
Early on in the dial face design, I realized that this very thick gnomon has four possible styles because it is in the shape of a square box, each corner being a different style that functions at different times of the day. I noticed that as the sun moves around the gnomon, the leading edge of the shadow is produced by different styles and that there is an instantaneous moment of transition when the style shifts to the next style. The only thing an astute observer sees on the ground at this moment is that the "fuzz zone" of the shadow will change a little in width, otherwise the shadow's movement is a smooth, continuous motion. This is great, because it means that on the face, the hour numbers will appear in consecutive numerical order just like on an ordinary sundial. (The spacing between the hour points gets a little strange during the style shift, however). It will be very user-friendly. But its design is more difficult. I found that none of these styles work all day, because they are all shaded at sometime during the day by the structure. So to make a sundial with hour points from sunrise to sunset, I have to use multiple styles. It takes at least three styles to cover the entire span of daylight hours. (I use the bottom, east and top styles in my design). Has anybody ever heard of a one-faced sundial with multple wrap-around styles? For example, instead of a four-sided gnomon, how about a three or fived-sided gnomon (You can exclude the common two-sided thick gnomon and the analemma shaped gnomon). p.s. If anybody would like me to send a PDF of my drawing, let me know... 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> -
