Re: Gnomon Gap Puzzle
Hi Frank, Thanks for the Gnomon Gap Puzzle. Learnt a lot from it. That is what makes sundials interesting. Always something new to learn. Great for the northern hemisphere. Does the book include a printout for the southern hemisphere? When I printed the dial onto A4 paper. It did not print correctly. It was close to being a square image. Would a pdf version be better. Thanks, Roderick Wall. Original message From: Frank King Date: 3/1/19 11:48 pm (GMT+10:00) To: Sundial List Subject: Re: Gnomon Gap Puzzle Dear All, I have a simple rule with my puzzles: wait for a reply from Geoff Thurston and then reveal all. The time has come! In the recent spate of messages, both Bill Gottesman and Steve Lelievre were very close. Bill is the only person to suggest an azimuthal dial with vertical styles (which describes my design) but Steve's drawing (despite the polar styles) is remarkably close to my design too. The 'unusual space' is "The End-Flap of a Book" - not easy to guess! By arranging for the top and bottom edges of the front cover to serve as vertical gnomons, you can mark out an azimuthal dial on the end-flap. This way the user doesn't need to supply a gnomon, nor is there any need for any kind of pop-out gnomon. The sundial is shown in operation outdoors in the real sun at: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/fhk1/Sundials/GnomonGapDial.jpg This shows what the design looks like. There are many forms of azimuthal dial but, as one who enjoys astrolabes, I like stereographic projections. [OK, I do realise that my design uses the zenith as the centre of the projection and not the NCP!] In terms of 'looking good', this design hardly competes with the Nuremburg or Harvard dials or the dials in the stunning images that Sara has just sent us. We can all look forward to the Adler catalogue. Sadly, those dials look a bit expensive. The link above shows the upmarket version of my design and this costs 15 GBP but you do get a book bundled in at no extra charge! There are lots of pretty pictures of sundials inside. What about implementing the design for less than a dime? Well, a dime is about what it costs me to print out a sheet of paper, and all you have to do is to print out the following: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/fhk1/Sundials/DoubleGapDial.jpg This is intended for A4-paper. You may have to trim the edges if you use LETTER size. This shows what is hidden on the inside back cover of the book. That is where the early morning and late evening summer-time hours are found. All you have to do is to fold along the black straight line (a valley fold not a ridge fold), place the S-part flat on a horizontal table, and point the S to SOUTH [some users find this a bit surprising!]. You must arrange for the larger part to be perpendicular to the S-part. In summer, in the early morning and late afternoon, you have to place the larger part flat on the table; the edges of the S-part then serve as gnomons. This really is a working diptych sundial and they don't come any cheaper! Sadly it is designed for my latitude +52d 12m but anyone who has read this far is likely to be well equipped to adapt the design for another latitude. Adventurous readers can add the appropriate wiggles to the hour lines to deal with longitude offset and EoT. Maybe it would be best to design two such dials (one on each side of the paper), with December to June hour lines on one side and June to December hour lines on the other. In the unlikely event that you might want the up-market version (with book attached) please contact: Hallam Kindersley Very best wishes Frank --- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial --- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
Re: Gnomon Gap Puzzle
Dear John, Many thanks for your seal of approval... > Bravo - two quarters of a double horizontal dial! A fair summary, but note that it doesn't suffer from the knife-edge gnomon bug that most double horizontal dials suffer from. Fancy going wrong at noon of all times of day. Grrr! The latest Compendium comes with an insert in which you can see Steve Lelievre and me, at either end of a piece of string, demonstrating the failings of a large knife-edge gnomon near Pittsburgh. This dial is in a burial ground so, maybe, it is trying to be some kind of metaphor? Very best wishes Frank --- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
[no subject]
Diese Nachricht wurde eingewickelt um DMARC-kompatibel zu sein. Die eigentliche Nachricht steht dadurch in einem Anhang. This message was wrapped to be DMARC compliant. The actual message text is therefore in an attachment.--- Begin Message --- Hi Frank, Bravo - two quarters of a double horizontal dial! Regards, John--- Dr J Davis Flowton Dials http://www.flowton-dials.co.uk/ BSS Editor http://sundialsoc.org.uk/publications/the-bss-bulletin/ On Thursday, 3 January 2019, 12:49:00 GMT, Frank King wrote: Dear All, I have a simple rule with my puzzles: wait for a reply from Geoff Thurston and then reveal all. The time has come! In the recent spate of messages, both Bill Gottesman and Steve Lelievre were very close. Bill is the only person to suggest an azimuthal dial with vertical styles (which describes my design) but Steve's drawing (despite the polar styles) is remarkably close to my design too. The 'unusual space' is "The End-Flap of a Book" - not easy to guess! By arranging for the top and bottom edges of the front cover to serve as vertical gnomons, you can mark out an azimuthal dial on the end-flap. This way the user doesn't need to supply a gnomon, nor is there any need for any kind of pop-out gnomon. The sundial is shown in operation outdoors in the real sun at: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/fhk1/Sundials/GnomonGapDial.jpg This shows what the design looks like. There are many forms of azimuthal dial but, as one who enjoys astrolabes, I like stereographic projections. [OK, I do realise that my design uses the zenith as the centre of the projection and not the NCP!] In terms of 'looking good', this design hardly competes with the Nuremburg or Harvard dials or the dials in the stunning images that Sara has just sent us. We can all look forward to the Adler catalogue. Sadly, those dials look a bit expensive. The link above shows the upmarket version of my design and this costs 15 GBP but you do get a book bundled in at no extra charge! There are lots of pretty pictures of sundials inside. What about implementing the design for less than a dime? Well, a dime is about what it costs me to print out a sheet of paper, and all you have to do is to print out the following: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/fhk1/Sundials/DoubleGapDial.jpg This is intended for A4-paper. You may have to trim the edges if you use LETTER size. This shows what is hidden on the inside back cover of the book. That is where the early morning and late evening summer-time hours are found. All you have to do is to fold along the black straight line (a valley fold not a ridge fold), place the S-part flat on a horizontal table, and point the S to SOUTH [some users find this a bit surprising!]. You must arrange for the larger part to be perpendicular to the S-part. In summer, in the early morning and late afternoon, you have to place the larger part flat on the table; the edges of the S-part then serve as gnomons. This really is a working diptych sundial and they don't come any cheaper! Sadly it is designed for my latitude +52d 12m but anyone who has read this far is likely to be well equipped to adapt the design for another latitude. Adventurous readers can add the appropriate wiggles to the hour lines to deal with longitude offset and EoT. Maybe it would be best to design two such dials (one on each side of the paper), with December to June hour lines on one side and June to December hour lines on the other. In the unlikely event that you might want the up-market version (with book attached) please contact: Hallam Kindersley Very best wishes Frank --- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial --- End Message --- --- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
Re: Gnomon Gap Puzzle - wonderful
Dear Alastair, Many thanks for your kind words... > Your design is wonderful... I hope you enjoy the book. You ask... > ... have you come across the term 'azimuth > circles', how would you define this term? I have heard this term in several contexts. In an astronomical context, any great circle that runs from your local zenith via the horizon down to the out-of-sight nadir is sometimes called an azimuth circle. As it happens, I call this a vertical circle; that's just habit but see later. In another context, I actually OWN an azimuth circle... I have an army marching compass (magnetic) which has an annular ring supporting the glass cover. The instructions call this the "azimuth circle". There is a radial line on the glass marked in luminous paint! The idea is that if you want to march towards some distant point, you aim the body of the compass at that point and then twiddle the azimuth circle so that the radial line covers the large N for north on the compass card. This N is also in luminous paint. I expect the whole thing is radio-active! You then walk along (er, MARCH along) keeping the line on top of the N. A more common azimuth circle is the horizontal graduated ring on a theodolite which enables you to determine the difference in bearing between two terrestrial objects. More generically, an azimuth circle seems to be any ring which is mounted in a horizontal plane and which can either be twiddled round itself or it is fixed and something else rotates round within it. In my opening example this means the entire horizon is an azimuth circle; it runs round all the vertical circles. That's one reason I call them vertical circles rather than azimuth circles! Some technical terms can be confusing :-) I expect Mr Google can give you more examples. Very best wishes Frank --- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
Gnomon Gap Puzzle - wonderful
Hello Frank Your design is wonderful, I would not have guessed it exactly, specifically that it was an azimuth dial. I did imagine it was a dial with a double (or split) style. I will buy the book! A question for you and others, have you come across the term 'azimuth circles', how would you define this term? I will be grateful for information. Many thanks and very best wishes for 2019 Alastair Hunter Edinburgh, UK -Original Message- From: sundial [mailto:sundial-boun...@uni-koeln.de] On Behalf Of Frank King Sent: Thursday, 3 January, 2019 12:49 PM To: Sundial List Subject: Re: Gnomon Gap Puzzle Dear All, I have a simple rule with my puzzles: wait for a reply from Geoff Thurston and then reveal all. The time has come! In the recent spate of messages, both Bill Gottesman and Steve Lelievre were very close. Bill is the only person to suggest an azimuthal dial with vertical styles (which describes my design) but Steve's drawing (despite the polar styles) is remarkably close to my design too. The 'unusual space' is "The End-Flap of a Book" - not easy to guess! By arranging for the top and bottom edges of the front cover to serve as vertical gnomons, you can mark out an azimuthal dial on the end-flap. This way the user doesn't need to supply a gnomon, nor is there any need for any kind of pop-out gnomon. The sundial is shown in operation outdoors in the real sun at: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/fhk1/Sundials/GnomonGapDial.jpg This shows what the design looks like. There are many forms of azimuthal dial but, as one who enjoys astrolabes, I like stereographic projections. [OK, I do realise that my design uses the zenith as the centre of the projection and not the NCP!] In terms of 'looking good', this design hardly competes with the Nuremburg or Harvard dials or the dials in the stunning images that Sara has just sent us. We can all look forward to the Adler catalogue. Sadly, those dials look a bit expensive. The link above shows the upmarket version of my design and this costs 15 GBP but you do get a book bundled in at no extra charge! There are lots of pretty pictures of sundials inside. What about implementing the design for less than a dime? Well, a dime is about what it costs me to print out a sheet of paper, and all you have to do is to print out the following: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/fhk1/Sundials/DoubleGapDial.jpg This is intended for A4-paper. You may have to trim the edges if you use LETTER size. This shows what is hidden on the inside back cover of the book. That is where the early morning and late evening summer-time hours are found. All you have to do is to fold along the black straight line (a valley fold not a ridge fold), place the S-part flat on a horizontal table, and point the S to SOUTH [some users find this a bit surprising!]. You must arrange for the larger part to be perpendicular to the S-part. In summer, in the early morning and late afternoon, you have to place the larger part flat on the table; the edges of the S-part then serve as gnomons. This really is a working diptych sundial and they don't come any cheaper! Sadly it is designed for my latitude +52d 12m but anyone who has read this far is likely to be well equipped to adapt the design for another latitude. Adventurous readers can add the appropriate wiggles to the hour lines to deal with longitude offset and EoT. Maybe it would be best to design two such dials (one on each side of the paper), with December to June hour lines on one side and June to December hour lines on the other. In the unlikely event that you might want the up-market version (with book attached) please contact: Hallam Kindersley Very best wishes Frank --- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial --- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
Re: Gnomon Gap Puzzle
Dear All, I have a simple rule with my puzzles: wait for a reply from Geoff Thurston and then reveal all. The time has come! In the recent spate of messages, both Bill Gottesman and Steve Lelievre were very close. Bill is the only person to suggest an azimuthal dial with vertical styles (which describes my design) but Steve's drawing (despite the polar styles) is remarkably close to my design too. The 'unusual space' is "The End-Flap of a Book" - not easy to guess! By arranging for the top and bottom edges of the front cover to serve as vertical gnomons, you can mark out an azimuthal dial on the end-flap. This way the user doesn't need to supply a gnomon, nor is there any need for any kind of pop-out gnomon. The sundial is shown in operation outdoors in the real sun at: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/fhk1/Sundials/GnomonGapDial.jpg This shows what the design looks like. There are many forms of azimuthal dial but, as one who enjoys astrolabes, I like stereographic projections. [OK, I do realise that my design uses the zenith as the centre of the projection and not the NCP!] In terms of 'looking good', this design hardly competes with the Nuremburg or Harvard dials or the dials in the stunning images that Sara has just sent us. We can all look forward to the Adler catalogue. Sadly, those dials look a bit expensive. The link above shows the upmarket version of my design and this costs 15 GBP but you do get a book bundled in at no extra charge! There are lots of pretty pictures of sundials inside. What about implementing the design for less than a dime? Well, a dime is about what it costs me to print out a sheet of paper, and all you have to do is to print out the following: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/fhk1/Sundials/DoubleGapDial.jpg This is intended for A4-paper. You may have to trim the edges if you use LETTER size. This shows what is hidden on the inside back cover of the book. That is where the early morning and late evening summer-time hours are found. All you have to do is to fold along the black straight line (a valley fold not a ridge fold), place the S-part flat on a horizontal table, and point the S to SOUTH [some users find this a bit surprising!]. You must arrange for the larger part to be perpendicular to the S-part. In summer, in the early morning and late afternoon, you have to place the larger part flat on the table; the edges of the S-part then serve as gnomons. This really is a working diptych sundial and they don't come any cheaper! Sadly it is designed for my latitude +52d 12m but anyone who has read this far is likely to be well equipped to adapt the design for another latitude. Adventurous readers can add the appropriate wiggles to the hour lines to deal with longitude offset and EoT. Maybe it would be best to design two such dials (one on each side of the paper), with December to June hour lines on one side and June to December hour lines on the other. In the unlikely event that you might want the up-market version (with book attached) please contact: Hallam Kindersley Very best wishes Frank --- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
Re: Gnomon Gap Puzzle
Happy New Year, Frank, How about a T-shaped dial consisting of a vertical east dial backed by a vertical west dial and sharing a solid sloping roof whose edges act as the gnomons. The hour lines close to noon could be marked as a horizontal dial on the "floor" of the dial. I think that this would meet the noon gap requirement but I cannot think of a location that demands it. Best wishes, Geoff On Tue, 1 Jan 2019 at 08:50, Frank King wrote: > Dear All, > > Here is a little Dialling Puzzle to start > the New Year... > > We are all familiar with the term 'Noon Gap'. > On a simple horizontal sundial with a plate > gnomon, this is the gap on the dial plate > between the two vertical faces of the gnomon. > > On the dial plate, there are two lines for > 12 o'clock with the noon gap between. Often > this gap is left blank. Sometimes there is > a date or, perhaps, the maker's name. > > During the year just ended, I was asked to > design a dial which had to fit in a rather > unusual space. After a little thought, I > decided on a solution. In this... > > THE ENTIRE DIAL FITS INSIDE THE GNOMON GAP > > Question 1: What does the design look like? > > Question 2: Can this possibly look good? > > Question 3: What is the 'unusual space'? > > A Happy New Year to you all. > > Frank King > Cambridge, U.K. > > --- > https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial > > --- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
