Re: Fibre optic cables
Hi, Mike! Mike Shaw ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote: > I rather fancy having a go at making such a dial - but know nothing > whatsoever about fibre optic cables. > > Where do you get them from? Two places to try, on-line: American Science & Surplus http://www.sciplus.com/ Edmund Scientific http://www.edmundscientific.com/ > Do you buy a long piece and cut it to length? Yes... The plastic fibers are easy to cut to a square end, and are quite cheap, compared to high-quality glass fiber. Some of the surplus houses supply jacketed bundles in lenghts of a few feet; these you can strip apart and get dozens of individual strands. > I assume they come in different diameters? Yes, again, but on the surplus market, you probably don't get much choice. Buying from a plastics supplier, you may be able to specify diameter better. Dave
Re: Ceiling Dials
Gordon, To calculate a ceiling dial you may use my program Zonwvlak. You can use any orientation of the mirror to test what will fit best. Best wishes, Fer. Fer J. de Vries [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.iae.nl/users/ferdv/ Eindhoven, Netherlands lat. 51:30 N long. 5:30 E - Original Message - From: Gordon Watson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2000 6:10 PM Subject: Ceiling Dials > Greetings from Devon, England. > > Anyone made a ceiling dial--a mirror by a window > projecting the sun's image onto the ceiling marked > with hour lines? I have been considering making > one for years and am hoping to find information > on the net, but so far without success. Do you > know of any ceiling dial articles on the net? > > Issues that have come to my mind include: > > 1. Mirror mounting/size/shape. > 2. Whether to raise or tilt the mirror in order to > to reflect the sun onto the ceiling on more days > of the year or at more convinient times of the day. > 3. Perhaps include an analemma (or two) with dates marked. > > I have found the reference to an article in the March 1996 > issue of the NASS Journal entitled "A Kitchen Ceiling Analemma" > by Woody Sullivan. Also, in the April 2000 issue of Sky & Telescope > in the "25 Years Ago" section, the April 1975 front cover is reproduced > sporting a tantalising photograph of analemmas painted on a ceiling. > > Gordon Watson > Lat. 50:30 N, Long. 3:45 W > >
Re: Fibre optic cables
Hello Mike, There is a company I have dealt with in the past called Supervision International that does high-tech (whatever that means) signs utilizing fiber optic strands. They also have a unique lighting system for the residential market that uses a centralized light source, and fibers to carry the light to remote locations, as in landscape lights and stairway step lighting. In that case the fiber is connected to the light source on one end and there is a small lense at the other to diffuse the light. There are two types of fibers that I know of, and both come in many different thicknesses. One type is the stuff that we all have probably seen before, which glows brightly at the tip of the fiber. The other glows along it's entire length, and is braided together and used to simulate neon. A multi-colour gel wheel can be used at the source end, slowly spinning and thus changing the colour of the whole strand from time to time. The most important thing is to cut the fiber with a hot knife, or touch the end of the fiber with a soldiering iron, so that the end can let the light shine through. If the end is abraded the light will be diminished. Supervision has a web site which you should be able to run down with a simple search, and a good catalog which will answer your tech questions. If you can't find them let me know and I will dig up their number/address. I believe that they are based in or near Orlando, Florida. They have the best stuff that I have seen. I have used their stuff to do simulated starfields in themed restaurants here at FX. I also have a couple of projects going at home, mostly light delivery systems for some fountains I am working on for my new company. It is really fun to play with...good luck on your project. Jim Tallman Sr. Designer FX Studios - Original Message - From: "The Shaws" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Mailinglist Sundial" Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2000 2:42 AM Subject: Fibre optic cables > Dear knowledgeable sundial folk, > > At the recent BSS conference, one of the sundial competition prizewinning > entries was a remote reading sundial based on fibre optic cables. There is > also an article about a similar one in BSS Bulletin 89/2 Page 16 by > W.G.Benoy. > > I rather fancy having a go at making such a dial - but know nothing > whatsoever about fibre optic cables. > > Where do you get them from? > Do you buy a long piece and cut it to length? > I assume they come in different diameters? > Any help appreciated > > Mike Shaw > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 53.37N 3.02W > Wirral, UK > > > > >
Re: Sundial by Sir Christopher Wren
Hi Klaus, Thank you for your reply. The International Bibliography of Gnomonica sounds like a wonderful resource, especially if there are brief descriptions of the contents of each entry. Is there any way for some one who doesn't own a copy of the Bibliography to check or search its contents--perhaps in a library or on the Internet? If not, and if the Bibliography is searchable by subject, are you able to supply any references (alas, I only read English) to the sundial by Sir Christopher Wren installed at All Souls College in Oxford, England? Since I'm seeking detailed information concerning the design and construction (or reconstruction, since the dial was relocated from its original site) of the dial, articles or books which contain only a brief mention are not of interest to me at this time. Many thanks for any help. Best wishes, Mac Oglesby Hello Mac, together with Charles K Aked and Nicola Severino and my 2000 articles we created in 1997 the International Bibliography of Gnomonica with 12000 titles concerning books printed from 1500 to 1997 and articles from international magazines. So, if you have a question to authors, years, titles etc. you can get an answer. With sunny greetings The German Sundial Society Klaus Eichholz Zum Ruhrblick 5 D-44797 Bochum [EMAIL PROTECTED] Von: "Mac Oglesby" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> An: "Sundial mailing list" Gesendet: Samstag, 29. April 2000 17:09 Betreff: Sundial by Sir Christopher Wren > > Hello Sundial List, > > I've been trying to locate detailed information on the design and > construction of Sir Christopher Wren's large vertical sundial > installed at All Souls College at Oxford in 1658. I'm familiar with > Margaret Stanier's booklet, and I have a copy of a pamphlet published > very recently by Dr John Simmons (of All Souls), but neither comes > even close to providing the details I seek. > > My efforts to find information on any subject using the internet have > generally been exercises in frustration. I am constantly amazed by > what some of you are able to find and would greatly appreciate any > hints about how to conduct a successful search. > > It doesn't seem possible that in the more than 3 centuries since the > sundial was first installed no one has written extensively on its > design and construction. But how to find those papers? > > Thanks for any help. > > Mac Oglesby > Putney, Vermont USA
RE: Sundial by Sir Christopher Wren
Hi Andrew, Thank you for your message. You wrote: (snip) > > It doesn't seem possible that in the more than 3 centuries since the > > sundial was first installed no one has written extensively on its > > design and construction. I should think that IS actually quite possible! I suspect that in the C18 the knowledge would have been commonplace and probably not considered worthy of writing down. I would be quite surprised if in the C19 and earlier C20 it had been written up. If a recent paper by a Fellow of All Souls gives no help then I fear you may be on a quest for something which does not exist - but I'd be delighted to be proved wrong and to learn of what you find! Have you tried writing to him directly? Best wishes, Andrew James Dr John Simmons, the author of "Wren's Dial Remov'd, or High-Victorian Hubris at All Souls," is elderly, busy, and doesn't use email. I've exchanged several messages with Norma Aubertin-Potter, Librarian in Charge, Codrington Library, who forwarded my questions to Dr Simmons and returned his answers. (Patrick Powers supplied an email address for the Library.) She has been very gracious and prompt in responding, but doesn't know where to find the material I'm seeking. I secured a copy of J. A. Bennett's "The Mathematical Science of Christopher Wren" through inter-library loan, but was disappointed to find only a brief mention of Wren's interest in sundials. Simmons also lists a monograph by Pattenden, "Sundials at an Oxford College," and I'm looking for a copy. Norma Aubertin-Potter gave me a more complete reference as: Philip Pattenden, Sundials at an Oxford College. Oxford: Roman Books, 1979. ISBN 0950664405. 100 pages. If any on the Sundial List are interested in Wren's magnificent sundial at All Souls College but haven't seen it, I have a small jpg (about 45k) available. There must be better images available somewhere on the internet, but I don't know where at the moment. Best wishes, Mac Oglesby
Fibre optic cables
Dear knowledgeable sundial folk, At the recent BSS conference, one of the sundial competition prizewinning entries was a remote reading sundial based on fibre optic cables. There is also an article about a similar one in BSS Bulletin 89/2 Page 16 by W.G.Benoy. I rather fancy having a go at making such a dial - but know nothing whatsoever about fibre optic cables. Where do you get them from? Do you buy a long piece and cut it to length? I assume they come in different diameters? Any help appreciated Mike Shaw [EMAIL PROTECTED] 53.37N 3.02W Wirral, UK
