Chuck, As your description indicates, it is a sunshine recorder. I don't remember the inventor's name, which I think is associated with it. I saw a description and operating instructions in an old British Meteorological Office manual dating perhaps from 1940 to 1950.
You might try suppliers of meteorological instruments, perhaps in the United Kingdom, or else dealers in antique scientific instruments. It may be that they are no longer made, having been superseded by photoelectric detectors and recorders. You could probably make your own using a glass sphere "crystal ball" and thermal FAX or recorder paper. Gordon At 08:46 AM 4/13/99 , Chuck O'Connell wrote: >Hi Everyone, > >Does anybody know the name the device described below? > >It looks like a glass sphere held in the center of a small equatorial >sundial. The image of the sun focuses to a point at some short >distance away from the surface of the glass sphere. Held in place >at this distance away from the glass and following the curve of >the sphere is a piece of waxpaper against a dark background. >When the sun shines, the waxpaper is scorched. When the sun >is behind the clouds, it is not scorched. The result is a recording of the >amount of sunshine seen at that location on that day. > >At least this is how it appears to me from a picture I have seen. > >Anybody have a name and possibly a source to buy one? > >Thanks, > >Chuck. > Gordon Uber [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reynen & Uber Web Design http://www.ubr.com/rey&ubr/ Webmaster: Clocks and Time http://www.ubr.com/clocks/
