As Professor Joad used to say, it all depends what you mean by ‘direction’. A
shadow simply falls on a surface. It doesn’t have a direction.
We need a clearer statement of the question.
John Foad
From: sundial On Behalf Of John Lynes
Sent: Monday, March 11, 2024 6:24 PM
To: Bill
Wieland
Cc: John Foad ; sundial@uni-koeln.de
Subject: Re: Aw: A mis-aligned vertical dial
Rolf Wieland wrote:
>Dear John,
>at first I couldn't understand your question. Now, after reading several
replies of other dialists, I think that I know what you meant.
>Please have a look at the a
.
Best wishes,
John Foad
---
https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
not be very weatherproof with no sides to the roof!
Happy New Year,
John Foad
-Original Message-
From: Frank King
Sent: Tuesday, January 1, 2019 8:50 AM
To: sundial@uni-koeln.de
Subject: Gnomon Gap Puzzle
Dear All,
Here is a little Dialling Puzzle to start
the New Year...
We are all
Dear Frank,
Surely Geoff Thurston is right? The width of the 6am shadow would be one
inch. (Assuming 6am and noon are local solar time, and ignoring penumbral
effects due to the sun not being a point source.)
If the hours are marked out as on Greg McDonagh's Pebble Dial (your article
in
Many thanks for the offer, David, but I have a number of excellent photos (in
sunshine) from John from 2008. The Register says now (I have enhanced it
slightly since the 2015 edition, after reviewing all reports and the photos):
“Located on south lawn. Dodecahedron dial with pentagonal faces.
To: John Foad
Cc: Sundial List
Subject: Re: Mass Dial encyclical
John,
Mrs. Gatty claims this was a decree of Pope Sabinian, 606 AD. Away from home,
so I can't give you a page reference.
Fred
—
Sent from Mailbox
On Sat, Aug 1, 2015 at 6:26 AM, John Foad john.f...@keme.co.uk wrote:
I
I have heard that there was once a Papal Encyclical requiring all churches to
have a Mass Dial. Is there any truth in this, and if so do we have a reference
to it?
John Foad---
https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
Hi Tony,
Looking at Linda's map, are you rooting for Scottish independence?!
Best wishes,
John
-Original Message-
From: Linda Reid
Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2014 10:13 AM
To: sundial@uni-koeln.de
Subject: Re: Re Map required
In message 53f0418a.9060...@zooplankton.co.uk
So . . . what is the explanation? From the angle of the tracks it looks
quite far north (or south). Can the curvature of the soup can do it? I
can't see how, whether it was vertical or horizontal.
John
-Original Message-
From: Thibaud Taudin Chabot
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014
. . . and indeed a nice postcard of it can be purchased from BSS Sales!!
John
From: Roger W. Sinnott
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 3:10 PM
To: sundial@uni-koeln.de
Subject: RE: an 18th-century blue-and-gold sundial
The sundial is also pictured on page 25 of Mike Cowham’s excellent Sundials
Dear Nicolas,
You are right, the dial dates from 1700. The church was destroyed and rebuilt
in 1873, and the then vicar, J R Lunn, installed this replacement gnomon with
his initials as well as the Sunday Letter and Golden Number, to commemorate the
re-consecration of the church a couple of
Actually if you jump to about 27:50 you can catch Mike directly. Super stuff,
Mike!
John
From: Tony Moss
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2012 9:55 AM
To: sundial@uni-koeln.de
Subject: BBC iPlayer - Antiques Roadshow.
Hi all,
I've just checked and Mike Shaw's appearance on antiques
Dear Darek,
I think there are many examples to document the use of dials to set the
clock. One is a horizontal at the top of the church tower at Benenden in
Kent, inscribed 'This dial was given by Thos Law Hodges Esq/Anno Domini 1819
for the Regulation/of the clock in the Parish Church of /
Dear Frank,
I have just noticed that today is the day that BBC Radio 4 chose to
broadcast
the first of their three 'Leap Year Tales'. It would be nice (but probably
unrealistic) to think that they chose the day for a bissextile reason!
Regards,
John
-Original Message-
From: Frank
Members of the list have helped in the past to identify stolen dials when they
turned up in auction catalogues. Any sightings of this one would be welcome!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-14617352
Regards
John---
Hi Donald,
Have you seen this one of a 19th century lady by her sundial? I can send a
higher res version direct if you like.
John
-Original Message-
From: Donald Christensen
Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2011 6:16 AM
To: sundial@uni-koeln.de
Subject: Old sundial pictures
I'm putting
Hi Andrew,
You are quite right, and any visitor to the area might like to know that
Aberdour has, in addition to the vertical dial in 'Earth picture of the
Day', at least two others, one being, the fine multiple that you mention.
That one has a 4-dial cube (NSEW), with 4 reclining dials above,
Hi Richard,
Thanks for pointing this out. It is a nice dial - No 900 in the BSS
Register. In fact the castle was built over the period 1606-1648 by
William, Earl of Morton. The initials, WM and ACM, are presumably those of
William and his wife. The dial was said to bear the date of 1635,
Dear Frank,
You point out here that the declinations lines normally used (which I assume
are conic sections) are not really correct, and it made me wonder
- what is the maximum deviation from the conic section line, eg on a dial
the size of your Pembroke dial?
- if it is significant, are there
Hi Fred,
If you print a copy of the picture, you can see that the style does at least
pass through the line 6 - 18 and 12 - 24, so that is OK. I can't check the
angles from the photo, but Tokushima is about 34 North, and the gnomon angle
could be that (to the horizontal). As a fairly
MessageIt is an interesting realisation, but is it not just a vertical dial
with the night hours added, and the style carried through beyond the plane of
the dial plate, for 'artistic' effect? I agree the Braille/Morse/??? dots are
a puzzle, though.
John
- Original Message -
Saxon dials have only been found, as far as I know, on church or monastery
buildings. This is understandable as their design was to show the tides, for
governing church offices. But is there any evidence that they could also have
been used on domestic buildings? If so, like the buildings
You have to think of the line of sight from the sun to your eye as a lever,
with the fulcrum being the horizon. As you run upstairs, the fulcrum moves
further away, and so your end of the lever gets longer and moves faster. Is
that it?
John
- Original Message -
From: Mike Shaw
I have been asked for an opinion on the item illustrated here, and would
appreciate any comments. Could it be a Roman hand-held sundial? It is made of
lead, and is 2 to 3 mm thick. It is said to have been found some years ago in
Lincolnshire, UK, on the site of a Roman military camp. Better
Dear Mike,
The dial in the front quad at Merton College Oxford (SRN 0583, dated 1629) has
hours from sunrise - see for example Margaret Stanier's 'Oxford Sundials'.
And just getting in to your 'pre-1800' bracket, the large vertical dial
preserved in Hesketh Park at Dartford (SRN 0513, dated
Not a cartoon, but a similar illustration that I have always liked, 'The
Meal Dial' from Arthur Ransome's 'Secret Water'.
John
- Original Message -
From: Mac Oglesby [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: Sundial Mailing List sundial@uni-koeln.de
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 7:28 PM
Subject:
Patrick Powers wrote:
On the matter of the Hawkshead dial I certainly think we have to establish
whether its current orientation is correct or not because if it is correct
(ie as a combined declining and canted dial) then it probably did come
from somewhere else. And that might then be a
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: Sundial [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 9:48 PM
Subject: strange longitude
Greetings fellow dialists,
John Foad has written to say that Keith Scobie-Youngs of the Cumbria
Clock Co, Dacre, Penrith, last restored the Hawkshead dial in 1997. He
asked
But would anyone claim to measure declination to seconds of arc? Still
seems a puzzle to me!
Regards,
John
- Original Message -
From: Frank King [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: fer de vries [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: sundial [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2007 10:28 PM
Subject: Re:
I don't know if I am being naive on this, but I
don't see any mystery in the lack of a reflection. The line of sight for a
reflection is from the point on the water where the reflection of the top of the
roof lies, and from that low point the roof would surelyhide the
'orb'?
Regards,
John.
This correspondence reminds me of unreadable dials I have encountered and
wondered about, though on a far smaller scale. For example SRNO 1958 at
Weston, Notts, is a nice horizontal of 1694, but it is mounted on a pillar
in the churchyard (not near the church) at a height of nearly 6 feet, and
Just a note to say that No, the church clock at St Dunstan's, Cranbrook in
Kent just uses normal Roman numerals (with ).
It main interest lies in its supporters, having above an elaborate winged
and bearded figure with a scythe (Father Time, but is he usually winged?).
This figure, and more
(not a replica), on a
replica pedestal. It is worth a visit.
The only other out-door dial I know of is on a house at 79 Old Dover
Road. It is quite nice, but not of any great historical interest.
I hope you have an enjoyable trip!
Best wishes,
John Foad
In message [EMAIL PROTECTED], Marcin
idea, but I have not found it in the few books I have tried.
--
John Foad
-
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