Re: sundial for the blind
Another idea, although less true to the traditional sundial idea would be to have solar cells or some other sun induced trigger to cause an audible reading. Every minute, every five minutes. If one could find a substance that expands notably with heat, can be well contained, and not too hazardous, a sundial could be made to change shape with time. Instead of tiles that heat up with sunlight at a certain time, imagine tubes/ columns instead of tiles that expand in length/ height to give the reader a more kinetic connection. Unlike a braille watch, whose moving parts are carefully used by one person, a public dial would have to meet high standards of long-term moving part integrity that may not be very feasible with this idea. Thad 42.2N 83.8W Tom Egan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Perhaps a blend of recent postings and satellite technology. Digital sundials using louvers, etc, will direct the sun's energy to selected parts of the dial. A black surface that is perpendicular to the sun will absorb more heat than if it is tilted away from the sun. In the limit, when the surface is parallel to the sun vector, it will be coolest. Space vehicles reject heat from internal workings by poking radiators into the blackness of space so that their flat surfaces are aligned with the sun vector. At first blush, it seems you can go one of two ways (maybe even both!). You can make the appropriate area hotter. Or, using radiator fins, you can make the appropriate area cooler.Another concept, using a different set of sensors: use numbers on bimetallic levers. The hottest one would rise above its neighbors and the blind person could detect the altitude difference. This might work more reliably on a cold, windy day. My guess is that it would be more sensitive also.Maybe set up a Rube Goldberg dial with a set of Braille-type pins driven by bimetall! ic levers. The pins would move up and down appropriately during the day. The Braille-trained person could read the time by touch.Let's see ... what senses are left? Smell. Taste. Sound. I'd better quit while I'm ahead.Good luck.TomSara Schechner wrote: Hi there,My community, Newton, Massachusetts, has a number of prominent schools for the blind and a strong public commitment to inclusion of people of all needs. I have just received an interesting commission to create a sundial for the vision impaired. It is part of a new outdoor community classroom and playground designed to be accessible to kids and adults with special physical needs that will anchor an older, major athletic complex of active playing fields. I will briefly describe the playground and community classroom below (with excerpts from the projects' websites and flyers). When the sundial was announced, I went to City Hall to make sure that it would be a properly working sundial. After all, the project is on a field that used to be the farmland that belonged to my old house! When the budget for the sundial was going t! o cut, I returned to the City commissioners and gave such an impassioned plea for the cultural and educational benefits of sundials (in the name of NASS and sundial societies everywhere) that the dial project was restored with great enthusiasm. I was selected as designer and the project evolved from a routine sundial into a sundial for the blind. Do members of the Sundial List have any ideas on how to accomplish this goal? One idea I had is to use a glass sphere that will focus sunlight on an equatorial band with raised numerals that would get hotter than the surrounding numerals when heated by the sunlight. Thanks for your advice and support!Sara SchechnerGnomon ResearchWest Newton, MA =The PlaygroundThe Albemarle Playground Project is Newton's fully accessible playground for children and their adult caregivers. The playground and tot lot are accessible by wheelchair and walke! rs. It has special playground equipment for use by kids with limited body strength and the equipment is of high contrast colors and diverse textures to aid the vision impaired. The fabulous thing about the playground is that it also appeals to kids without these needs, and permits all the children to play together. No one feels singled out or isolated. The Outdoor Community ClassroomThe Classroom, which will feature a gazebo, benches, tables, a drinking fountain and a sundial, will provide a fully accessible, multi-generational passive recreation space. It will provide a permanent yet flexible space for a variety of activities enjoyed by persons of all ages. The Community Classroom will facilitate the enjoyment of the out-of-doors, both for those for whom the outdoors location is central to their activity (or example, a bird watching group or nature photography club) as well as for those for whom the natural setting is an enhancement of their activity (for example, a senior citizens' crocheting club or a book discussion group.) Third graders might meet
RE: sundial for the blind
Message text written by "Andrew James" >The increased temperature on one of a number of areas could cause a scent to evaporate most strongly there and be most detectible e.g. at one of a number of openings. < That's an interesting idea too. A long shot this one though.. but, courtesy of Andrew's excellent Index to the BSS Bulletin, I have been able to find again (see BSS Bulletin Oct 91(3) p4) mention of a Nineteenth Century pastime of constructing (visual) sundials made up from thirteen flower varieties that (allegedly!) open at different times of the day from 6am to 6pm.. I remember when I first saw this article being amazed that such an effect allowed time to be assessed to about an hour - and sometimes apparently even without direct sunlight too. Perhaps then there might be a range of flowers whose strength of scent might vary by time too... Hmmm, I'm probably clutching at straws here - either that or the plants that do have such an effect will all turn out to be from the wild garlic family!! Patrick -
RE: sundial for the blind
Tom Egan wrote (08 March 2004 07:28) "Let's see ... what senses are left? Smell. Taste. Sound. I'd better quit while I'm ahead." But perhaps we shouldn't rule them out completely, even if not appropriate in this particular application? (I'm going to leave out taste, though, as licking the parts of a public sundial might raise some eyebrows.) The increased temperature on one of a number of areas could cause a scent to evaporate most strongly there and be most detectible e.g. at one of a number of openings. And a mechanical linkage operated by temperature could alter the frequency of vibration of one tuned element relative to others so that a change in pitch could be discerned? (I don't think the straightforward effect of differential temperature on elasticity and linear dimension would suffice unless some odd material with something akin to a phase change near the operating temperature for the day could be used, nor would the change of speed of sound in air on a tuned cavity resonator or pipe be enough.) Not easy to accomplish - but when you next come across the Smellodial or the Suntuner, remember, you saw the idea on this list first (Or did you??) ;-) Regards Andrew James This correspondence is confidential and is solely for the intended recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient, you must not use, disclose, copy, distribute or retain this message or any part of it. If you are not the intended recipient please delete this correspondence from your system and notify the sender immediately. This message has been scanned for viruses by MailControl -
Re: sundial for the blind
Yes, I did have a modified sunshine recorder in mind, but with the touch band not right at the focus of the sphere but adjacent to it--for the reason you specify (risk of burns). It also occurred to me that a small sphere might not focus too much light. I need something that will work in a wide range of temperature. Summers in Boston get up in the 90s and even over 100 degrees F. Winters are can be at 0 degrees F, but then again the sundial is likely to be covered in snow! The Zeist dial mentioned by Fer is interesting in its use of a photovoltaic cell. Thanks for the reference to the dial in Regents Park. Please send me directly the image in larger format. Best, Sara -
Re: sundial for the blind
Dear Sara, In The Netherlands there is sundial for blind children in Zeist. (1991) It is based on an equatorial disk that is rotated by hand until an electronic device finds the sun and gives a beep. Braille marks are used to read the sundial. On our WEB site (address below) follow the links: Sundial of the month Archives 2003 03-08, Zeist. Fer J. de Vries De Zonnewijzerkringmailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]http://www.de-zonnewijzerkring.nl Homemailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]http://www.iae.nl/users/ferdv/index-fer.htmEindhoven, Netherlandslat. 51:30 N long. 5:30 E - Original Message - From: Sara Schechner To: Sundial List Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2004 3:52 PM Subject: sundial for the blind Hi there,My community, Newton, Massachusetts, has a number of prominent schools for the blind and a strong public commitment to inclusion of people of all needs. I have just received an interesting commission to create a sundial for the vision impaired. It is part of a new outdoor community classroom and playground designed to be accessible to kids and adults with special physical needs that will anchor an older, major athletic complex of active playing fields. I will briefly describe the playground and community classroom below (with excerpts from the projects' websites and flyers). When the sundial was announced, I went to City Hall to make sure that it would be a properly working sundial. After all, the project is on a field that used to be the farmland that belonged to my old house! When the budget for the sundial was going to cut, I returned to the City commissioners and gave such an impassioned plea for the cultural and educational benefits of sundials (in the name of NASS and sundial societies everywhere) that the dial project was restored with great enthusiasm. I was selected as designer and the project evolved from a routine sundial into a sundial for the blind. Do members of the Sundial List have any ideas on how to accomplish this goal? One idea I had is to use a glass sphere that will focus sunlight on an equatorial band with raised numerals that would get hotter than the surrounding numerals when heated by the sunlight. Thanks for your advice and support!Sara SchechnerGnomon ResearchWest Newton, MA =The PlaygroundThe Albemarle Playground Project is Newton's fully accessible playground for children and their adult caregivers. The playground and tot lot are accessible by wheelchair and walkers. It has special playground equipment for use by kids with limited body strength and the equipment is of high contrast colors and diverse textures to aid the vision impaired. The fabulous thing about the playground is that it also appeals to kids without these needs, and permits all the children to play together. No one feels singled out or isolated. The Outdoor Community ClassroomThe Classroom, which will feature a gazebo, benches, tables, a drinking fountain and a sundial, will provide a fully accessible, multi-generational passive recreation space. It will provide a permanent yet flexible space for a variety of activities enjoyed by persons of all ages. The Community Classroom will facilitate the enjoyment of the out-of-doors, both for those for whom the outdoors location is central to their activity (or example, a bird watching group or nature photography club) as well as for those for whom the natural setting is an enhancement of their activity (for example, a senior citizens' crocheting club or a book discussion group.) Third graders might meet there as they begin their study of the tadpoles in Cheesecake Brook, while a seventh grade English class might use the space for poetry reading. Two friends might break from their early morning power walk and sit and talk for a while, or two pre-schoolers might "take the stage" and put on an impromptu performance. Benches located close to the tot lot enclosure will allow our seniors a chance to do some toddler watching, without finding themselves in the middle of the toddler action!The Community Classroom will provide passive recreation space within what is otherwise a large recreational complex devoted to active recreation. This accessible passive area will provide a sense of balance lacking in the present complex configuration. It will also facilitate enjoyment of surrounding open space, including Cheesecake Brook, the Charles River and adjacent conservation land. The Community Classroom will also provide the complex with "street presence", anchoring the playground and playing fields. Carefully planned and constructed, the organizers believe that the Community Classroom will serve Newton well for generations to come. The following quote from Rachel Carson expresses the spirit behind this effort:Wherever you are and whate
