John Carmichael wrote: > > fer j. de vries states: > > >So to my opinion the cables on your sundials are styles. > > Whereas Patrick says the cable should be called a gnomon. > > Why do you do this to me! If two of the most respected gnomonists of this > group are in disagreement then I guess I am free to use either definition! > Maybe we should call Patrick a "gnomonist" and fer a "stylist"! > > John Carmichael > http://www.azstarnet.com/~pappas
Hello John, I looked in some old English books ( reprints ). Thomas Fale, Horologiographia, The Art of Dialling, London 1593. He uses the words Stile and Substile ( with i ) Edmund Gunter, Use of the sector, cross-staffe, and other instruments, 1624. He uses Style and Substyle ( with y ) But both use the word style or stile for the shadow caster parallel to the earth's axis. To confuse you more : Edmund Gunter, The description and use of His Maiesties dials in Whit-Hall Garden, 1624. The most imporatant part of this dial is an horizontal concave dial with shadow-triangle. The whole triangle is named : Style. The edge parallel to the earth's axis is named : Axis of the world. The edge pointing to the zenith is named : Axis of the horizon. Happy dyalling, Fer. ( gnomonist, because with a gnomon I am able to read all kinds of lines on a sundial and with a style I am restricted to the suntime, with or without longitude correction. ) -- Fer J. de Vries [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.iaehv.nl/users/ferdv/ lat. 51:30 N long. 5:30 E