Dear Alison, I think the experts have already told you what you need to know.
Of course, re-aligning the drive to run North-South would help a little. This should be easier for Mr Phillips than re-aligning the Earth's axis. Placing the whole estate on a turntable would be an alternative allowing the present alignment of drive relative to house to be undisturbed. A rough and ready allowance for Summer Time could then be made twice a year which could become another tourist attraction if you can cope with having Summer and Winter entrances. You may not want to transport it to the Southern Hemisphere, though - nor to the pole when you can indeed use a semicircle (or better still, a full circle). Others may like to comment on the following thoughts: If, instead of standing on the central "month" scale, the user finds and stands on or near the hour number which casts his shadow onto the appropriate date, the numbers might be arranged to the South rather than to the North of the centre. This requires more action on the part of the user. A circular or other shape rather than a narrow rectangular centre bearing the date scale might "disguise" the alignment a little. If the hours were not in a horizontal plane, perhaps they could be arranged to lie on a semicircle in some other plane - though not, I think, what Mr Phillips would like? (I was once involved in rectifying, as far as possible given what was immovably fixed, an analemmatic dial at first incorrectly laid out, so I do wish you well in this endeavour. It still ended up having timekeeping errors but it was possible to spread them around so that none were too enormous.) Andrew James -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Alison Shields Sent: 03 June 2008 18:57 To: sundial@uni-koeln.de Subject: Advice wanted, on 'Analemmatic' sundial orientation Dear Sundial Experts, I have recently joined this Mailing List, and hope that any members will be able to give me some assistance on the following situation. Our local Stately Home ("Kentwell Hall", Long Melford, Suffolk) is considering installing an Analemmatic sundial, as a new interactive attraction for visitors - but we are getting 'conflicting' advice, on whether this 'Human Sundial' will work in the way we want it to. We have been in discussion with "Modern Sunclocks" (apparently the acknowledged 'experts' for these features), who have told us that its central scale of dates must be aligned North/South - plus that hour markers must be correctly positioned on an elliptical ring, and which would lie on the Northern side of that scale of dates. Photographs on their website ( www.sunclocks.com ) confirm this. However, our 'Director of Operations' (Mr Phillips) absolutely INSISTS that he wants the scale to run exactly parallel with our main driveway - on a compass bearing which is about 162 degrees from North, with the hour points placed on its Southern side. He also wants the hour points to form an exact semi-circle, and not be elliptical in shape. Mr Phillips refuses to accept that he cannot arbitrarily position the Human Sundial feature as he wishes, and says that it must be possible to create this so that it could then align with the existing layout of buildings/paths. Can anyone on this Mailing List tell me whether it is possible to install a Human Sundial to fit any existing orientations, (with appropriate re-calculation of its component parts) - or, if not, just confirm that it must be as "Modern Sunclocks" have told me. I can then show the 'weight of evidence' to Mr Phillips. Because "Kentwell Hall" is a well-known Stately Home (open to the public), we should not want to become a 'laughing stock' by installing a feature which does not work - despite Mr Phillips assurance that "all types of sundial can be adjusted to work, in any location". Looking forward to all comments (to this List, or sent privately). Sincerely, Alison Shields. --------------------------------------------------- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial This message has been scanned for viruses by MailControl PRI Limited, PRI House, Moorside Road Winchester, Hampshire SO23 7RX United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1962 840048 Fax: +44 (0) 1962 841046 www.pri.co.uk PRI Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 2199653 Measure - Inform - Empower 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. --------------------------------------------------- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
