For Q1, my solution would be a bit like the set up already suggested by
Maciej Lose from Hans Troschel. Instead of having two wires in a
diptych, I would use a rectangular sheet of material. It would be set up
with one pair of opposite edges on an East-West line, and the other pair
parallel to the polar axis. The east and west edges then each act as a
style for an undershot and an overshot sub-dial, giving me four
sub-dials in total, all horizontals. Two are on the north side of the
gnomon and 2 are south of it. Assuming northern hemisphere then:
The eastern style overshot works for solar azimuth <= -90
The eastern style undershot works for solar azimuth -90 to 0
The western style undershot works for solar azimuth 0 to 90
The western style overshot works for solar azimuth >= 90
With the right size and aspect ratio for the rectangle then the sub-dial
faces need not overlap, and only one face sees the sun at any instant,
so there's no confusion about which face to use...does this solution
count as being entirely within the noon gap, though?
For Q2, of course I say yes.
For Q3: I have absolutely no idea what Frank's space is, but I think my
solution would fit well around a ground-mounted solar panel array -
they're arranged East-West and poleward, aren't they?
Steve
On 2019-01-01 12:50 a.m., Frank King wrote:
Dear All,
Here is a little Dialling Puzzle to start
the New Year...
We are all familiar with the term 'Noon Gap'.
On a simple horizontal sundial with a plate
gnomon, this is the gap on the dial plate
between the two vertical faces of the gnomon.
On the dial plate, there are two lines for
12 o'clock with the noon gap between. Often
this gap is left blank. Sometimes there is
a date or, perhaps, the maker's name.
During the year just ended, I was asked to
design a dial which had to fit in a rather
unusual space. After a little thought, I
decided on a solution. In this...
THE ENTIRE DIAL FITS INSIDE THE GNOMON GAP
Question 1: What does the design look like?
Question 2: Can this possibly look good?
Question 3: What is the 'unusual space'?
A Happy New Year to you all.
Frank King
Cambridge, U.K.
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