The oldest mechanism for telling time. Sundial - the simplest device, but it contains the knowledge and observations of our ancient ancestors. Currently sundial used as landscape decoration. For example sundial parents teach their children the structure solar system, and the building itself DIY sundial - a most exciting activity for our children, for example, being on the beach. During production sundial you need to know some points and features of their design, which we will talk about in this article.
Sundial consist of a pointer hand that casts a shadow (this hand is called a gnomon) and a sundial dial. Time by sundial determined by the shadow cast by the gnomon on the dial. Everything is simple, but there are some peculiarities. Clock face sundial is divided into 24 hours, rather than 12 hours, as in conventional mechanical watches. The dial or gnomon must be tilted above the plane. Sundial do not take into account the transition to summer time. The sundial only works in clear or partly cloudy weather during daylight hours. That's all the restrictions sundial.
There are several types sundial. Let's deal with them in order.
You can do it right on the sand on the beach. First we need to know two things: what latitude we are at and where north is. If the second part can be installed by selection, then with the first you will have to be prepared. So, we have a compass and we know our latitude (St. Petersburg - 60, Moscow - 55, Nizhny Novgorod- 56, Ekaterinburg - 56, Sochi - 43, Rostov-on-Don - 47, Novosibirsk - 55, Vladivostok - 43 degrees north latitude). If we make a dial sundial on a portable surface - draw a circle and divide it into 24 parts. If we make a sundial on the ground, draw a circle, insert a stick (gnomon) into the center of the circle and tilt it north so that the angle between the surface of the earth and the gnomon is equal to our latitude, draw a line from the lower end of the gnomon exactly north - it will be 12 hours of the day astronomical time. We draw the remaining lines, dividing the entire circle into 24 equal sectors. Each sector sundial equal to 15 degrees.
An ambush awaits us here. After competently delineating the dial and tilting the gnomon, the time is shown sundial may differ from the time shown on local television. The problem lies in maternity time and time zones, which were artificially created for convenience. A portable dial will easily solve this problem by simply turning it until the time is correct. With a clock drawn in sand a little more complicated, this point must be taken into account when starting to paint the dial. For example, you can postpone marking the dial until 12 o'clock, when we will determine the north without a compass and accurately draw the main axis of the dial of our sundial. If you have no time to wait, and creativity is bursting out of you, paint the dial sundial V draft and adjust your dial to the error that you have.
In our latitudes sundial They work in the height of summer from 8 am to 8 pm, so it is almost pointless to divide the numbers between these values. Because of this, the base of the gnomon is often moved downward on a round dial.
The same horizontal clock, only the gnomon is set clearly vertically, and the dial itself is inclined to the surface of the earth at the angle of latitude where such a clock is installed.
Vertical sundial usually mounted on the walls of houses. The same tilted gnomon and dial marked at 15 degrees.
Usually in cities they make a mixed type sundial, i.e. The dial is tilted half an angle, and the gnomon is tilted half an angle. This construction sundial look more impressive, in fact, that’s why they are made.
Construction sundial DIY will really captivate your child and, in addition, expand his horizons.
Man invented a number of instruments for measuring time, for example, lunar, water, candle clocks, which were used until the 18th century, then hourglasses and from the 16th to the 18th centuries oil clocks. However, due to its dependence on external conditions and their fluctuations, as well as due to technical imperfections, these means of measuring time have not found universal use.
According to modern chronology, clocks of varying degrees of complexity already existed everywhere 4000 years ago. The first to try to make them were the Egyptians, who invented star clock charts, and it was possible to determine night time by observing the rise of the stars. Regarding daytime, the late Egyptians invented shadow clocks (sundial). The shadow from the cross beam gradually crossed a series of marks from sunrise to sunset. A set of instructions for making such a watch was found in the tomb of a pharaoh.
Seti I, who reigned around 1300 BC. Such simple shadow clocks were the predecessors solar.
Particularly favorable climatic conditions to measure time using sundial had Egypt. News about the most ancient of ancient Egyptian sundial dates back to the reign of Thutmose III - the first half of the 15th century. BC. One type of sundial was a stepped clock in the form of an obelisk with two inclined surfaces oriented along an east-west axis and divided into steps. At sunrise, the shadow fell on the edge of the upper step of one of these surfaces - the eastern one, then gradually dropped until it completely disappeared by noon. Then, in the afternoon, the shadow again appeared in the lower part of the western surface, from where it continued to rise until, at sunset, it touched the edge of the upper step.
On the described sundial time was measured by the length, not the direction, of the shadow cast. However, the Egyptians had a sundial with a scale to determine the direction of the cast shadow. The famous Roman architect and builder Marcus Vitruvius, who worked during the reigns of Caesar and Augustus, describes at least 13 types of sundials in his work “Architecture”.
These also include horizontal hollow hemispherical sundial- the so-called hemispheres. The inner surface of the hemisphere represented a celestial hemisphere with an equator line, two solstice lines and a twelve-hour time scale. The invention of such clocks is attributed to the famous ancient astronomer Aristarchus of Sames, who lived in 320 - 250. BC who also made sundial with semicircular scales divided into five parts (hours) of unequal length. In improving the Greek sundial The famous mathematician, doctor, founder of Greek astronomy Eudoxus of Knidos, who lived in 408 - 356, also took a great part. BC. The sharp end of the gnomon, which originally served the Egyptians to clearly limit the shadow on the scale, was later replaced by the Greeks with a small round hole, the so-called solar eye, which threw a small point of light onto the scale. In addition to the above horizontal clocks, the Greeks also had more advanced vertical sundial, the so-called hemocycles, which they placed on public buildings. All ancient sundials were based on simple principle a gnomon, in which the length and direction of the cast shadow depended not only on the position of the Sun at a given moment in the sky, but also on the time of year.
With the Roman method of dividing day and night into 12 hours, daytime hours were lengthened in spring and summer, and shortened in autumn and winter. The ancient sundial, due to its imperfection, indicated the time, the main feature of which was that, under the influence of the changing inclination of the Sun, the length of the day and night hours changed throughout the year. Later antique and many medieval sundial had curvilinear scales that eliminated this drawback. Such clocks, with more complex and more accurate time scales calculated for quarterly or monthly intervals, were used until about the 15th century. A new era in the development of sundials was opened by an important invention dating back to 1431. Its principle was to install a shadow arrow in the direction earth's axis. This simple innovation achieved that the shadow of the hand, called the semi-axis, after this innovation rotated evenly around the semi-axis, turning 15 degrees every hour. This made it possible to introduce uniform time, which could be used throughout the year, and the segments corresponding to the hours were the same length, regardless of the changing altitude of the Sun. The next stage in development sundial became a sundial with a compass. To the first creator sundial an astronomer and a mathematician with a corrective compass
Regiomontan. with a dial parallel to the plane of the earth's equator and a gnomon perpendicular to it, they were, in essence, the simplest clocks with a uniform time scale. The creators of such watches usually assumed that they would be used in different geographical latitudes. Sometimes such watches had a geared hand and a small dial with an arrow for counting minute intervals with an accuracy of 1 to 3 minutes. Such clocks were called heliochronometers.
There were also equatorial clocks, designed so that their dial indicated directly the average solar time, not local solar time, like a regular equatorial watch. Varieties sundial were very diverse. Interesting roundabouts sundial- one of the options for travel sundials, which very often also served as a decorative pendant.
The main part such sundial there was a brass ring several centimeters in diameter with another movable ring equipped with a hole for a sunbeam. On the outer surface of the main ring, the initial letters of the names of the months were usually engraved, and against them, on inner surface, there was an hour scale. Before measuring, it was necessary to turn the smaller, usually iron, ring so that the hole for the beam lay at the name of the corresponding month. When measuring time, the watch was held in a position that allowed the sun's ray to pass through the hole in the scale. The so-called equatorial rings were built on a similar principle - similar watches, on the main ring of which there were two more circles intersecting with each other. Later arose new option with a crossbar instead of a third ring.
On one side of this crossbar the months were indicated, and on the other - the signs of the zodiac. In the middle there was a jumper with a small hole for the passage of the sun's ray. Correct position of these clocks when measuring time was such when Sunbeam, passing through the hole, fell on the central line of the equatorial circle. To conclude this section, I would like to briefly dwell on one of the road models sundial, used by Indian travelers. They were wooden octagonal sticks with a metal tip 160 cm long with carved hour scales. A rod about 15 cm long was inserted into the hole above the scale for the corresponding month so that its tip would cast a shadow on the scale when the stick was in a vertical position. There should have been 12 scales on the stick. Since the same conditions were in effect for days removed from the solstice by the same time, it was enough to have 8 scales. These watches received the name ashadah according to the season (June-July) in which the travel was made. Sundial have never lost their meaning and continue to be constructed even today. The Romans perfected the sundial we are familiar with today, and even made solar portable watch, convenient for travel. They lasted for thousands of years and remained for a long time a means of checking and coordinating the very unreliable wheel clocks, until they were finally supplanted by the invention of the spiral spring as a regulator (1674), but we will talk about this below.
We looked at the design and functioning of sundials, which have been improved and changed over the years. Sundial with a pole movable in height, a compass and scales with minute divisions, they were a simple and reliable solar time indicator, but they also suffered from some serious shortcomings. Their work was related to sunny weather and with a limited period of operation - between sunrise and sunset. Therefore, new instruments for measuring time were fundamentally different from sundials. While the unit of time according to the sundial was derived from the rotation of the Earth and its movement around the Sun, it was necessary to create an artificial standard for the unit of time, for example, in the form of the time interval required for the flow of a certain amount of matter in a chronometric device.
I HAVE LONG DREAMED OF HAVING A GARDEN DECORATIVE CLOCK IN FRONT OF THE GATE TO THE PLOT.
I LOVE AND CAN WORK WITH STONE, SO I TOOK IT AS THE BASIS OF A FUTURE PRODUCT.
IT TURNED BEAUTIFUL AND USEFUL - NOW BOTH ME AND ANY PASSERBY ON A SUNNY DAY CAN EASILY DETERMINE WHAT TIME IT IS.
I found a boulder of suitable size with a wide flat surface.
To check the quality of a boulder, you need to scrape it with something - if the stone crumbles easily, then it is not suitable for work. Granite is best polished and ground.
Then he started doing the calculations. I found out the latitude at which Mogilev is located: 53 degrees. 55 min. - the angle of inclination of the gnomon* (53 degrees) along the latitude of the area guarantees the accuracy of the sundial. I experimentally determined the approximate height of the gnomon; its shadow should not extend beyond the boundaries of the future dial.
I marked a right angle on a piece of aluminum. Using a protractor, I drew an angle of 53 degrees from the bottom line upward. 55 min. (see diagram 1). I drew curly lines inside to make the pointer look more fun, and cut it out with a hacksaw (can be made from long nails, plastic pins or knitting needles).
On the flat surface of the boulder, I marked the center of the circle, drew a line from it to the edge - this is the noon mark of 12 o'clock. From this line, using a protractor, I laid off 15 degrees, in each direction 8 times (Diagram 2) - dial marks from 4 am to 20 pm.
1. The dial markings can first be drawn on a sheet of paper that exactly matches the size of the frame plane**, and then transferred to the plate.
2. If the dimensions allow, you can mark the half-hour and quarter-hour divisions on the dial with pieces of stainless wire, colored stones, glass, fixing them with waterproof glue.
Using a grinder with a diamond wheel, I sawed these lines on the stone, 2 mm wide and 5 mm deep. The gnomon was driven with a hammer along the noon line, aligning the center of the pointer with the center of the dial as in diagram 2
I twisted aluminum wire d 1.5 mm into a spiral and drove it into all the cuts with a hammer (photo 1) At the ends of the lines I drilled holes and drove cap nuts into them (photo 2) I hollowed out a recess in the lower part of the boulder and tried a pipe d 150 mm into it - on such a pedestal it is easier to set and tighten the watch. I drove the pipe into the ground (photo 3) and placed a boulder on top.
I set the compass dial to the noon line to the north. I checked the readings of the sundial as usual at noon. I placed small cobblestones under the boulder and cemented it.
On permanent place The frame of the sundial is installed strictly horizontally. You can check the level using a plate filled to the brim with water.
I came up with a corresponding design for such a watch. Under the cobblestone I placed a wire curved in the shape of a neck and head (photo 4) - it turned out to be a swan. I drilled the mushroom caps and placed them on the rods in the legs (photo 5)
I found a stone heart in the Dnieper, secured an arrow on both sides (photo 6). I stuck a sword into another cobblestone, having first sawed the stone (photo 7). By the way, I connected all the parts without glue.
There are 5 dragons in my family according to the eastern city, so I sculpted a sculpture of this animal from a chameleon stone. Near the garage, the clay wall was crumbling. Strengthened it with cobblestones and decorative tiles by using cement mortar(photo 8)
On a note
The sequence of hour symbols on the dial follows the rule of hand movement mechanical watch. The reference point is the noon line running from the base of the gnomon. It can be determined quite accurately using a compass (north-south line).
It is even more convenient to use a simple clock, comparing its readings with the shadow of the gnomon. This line is determined especially accurately by the clock on the days before and after April 16, June 15, August 31 and December 26. The simplest clock design is horizontal, so you can make it with your children right on the ground: draw an even circle, stick a stick in the center - it will serve as a gnomon for you.
Draw a straight line from the center of the circle to the north - noon according to astronomical time. Divide the circle into twenty-four equal sectors. Tilt the pointer stick in the direction of north at an angle corresponding to the latitude of your particular area.
* Gnomon is a rod that is attached to the dial, and its shadow shows the time.
**Cadran is a surface on which the appropriate markings are applied.
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As aptly noted: the clock hands are represented by two hands that rob people of their time. To determine what time it is at your summer cottage, you need to stop working, wash your hands, and find your cell phone. What if you made a working sundial at your dacha? They will not only decorate some corner of the garden, but will also show the time.
And the kids will like the know-how: the children will seem like fairy-tale wizards who possess the secrets of time.
Horizontal sundial options:
Equatorial. The surface of the dial is inclined relative to the ground level at an angle equal to 90 degrees - the latitude of the area and is turned towards the polar star (to the north). The arrow is perpendicular to the dial and can be a regular pin. The hour markings on the dial are every 15 degrees.
Horizontal. The dial is placed strictly horizontally on the ground or stand. The arrow is a triangle with an angle equal to the latitude of the area. Arrow direction is north. The division of the dial into hours-sectors is carried out according to the formula.
Equatorial.
Now you need to set the clock correctly.
The latitude of each city can be found on Wikipedia.
The disadvantage of such watches is that they will only show time for half a year, and in winter they will be in the shade.
Horizontal.
These watches are very easy to make with your child.
IN Lately owners of suburban areas are increasingly seeking to decorate their garden areas somehow unusual and original, using those structural elements, thanks to which the site will become truly exquisite and unique. If we're talking about O European garden, then here it is a sundial that will fill the territory with a special philosophy. Today we will find out, but first we will deal with some important points.
Interesting fact! Did you know that garden labyrinth Is it possible to do it yourself? If you want to know more, read.
Sundials gained particular popularity in the 17th-18th centuries and were used mainly in gardens. classic style- first in, and soon in. They first gained popularity as part of palace ensembles, but mass distribution is associated with the transformation of watches into independent element ornamental gardens, which, by the way, were performed in a wide variety of styles.
It is often said that Europe is not suitable place to create a sundial on the site, they say, this is just another attempt to stand out among other summer residents, and an unsuccessful one. And they say this because our climate is not suitable for this, since there are many cloudy days. You will be surprised, but all this is just another misconception! For example, in England, with its frequent fogs, rare classical gardens do without this decorative element.
Usually the sundial is located in the center of the flower bed and is the dominant element, as it is located on a pedestal or other elevated surface. Also note that the pedestal is important element of this composition, which is sometimes made in the form of a column.
Sundials are designed to attract attention, for this reason their size is directly related to the size of a particular area. If the area is small, then it is advisable to install the clock on a path, next to a lawn or a small but bright flower bed. But in a landscape or forest garden it is better to surround them with flowers so that they, invisible from afar, suddenly appear before your eyes when approaching. In addition, in small gardens, sundials are often installed in the form of decorative figurines.
Thanks to the huge variety of materials and shapes used to create a clock, you can get a design that takes into account the characteristics of the garden where it is created. So, if the garden is in an avant-garde style, but when creating a sundial, the most insignificant details should be taken into account. Here the clock can become part of a recreation area, a playground or even a gazebo. Moreover, they can effectively decorate a garden pond or fountain.
There is a concept of “live clock”. This is another option how to make a sundial with your own hands, but using flowering living plants, which will serve as material for the formation of the dial and hands.
Any sundial is based on two elements:
Any material that is resistant to atmospheric factors can be used to make watches. It could be stone, cement, iron, wood, plastic or even gravel. It is advisable that the dial be light (this may be white marble, limestone, etc.): this way the shadow from the gnomon will be more noticeable. And the gnomon itself, by the way, can be made from long nails, plastic pins or knitting needles.
Note! The length of the pointer should slightly exceed the circumference of the dial.
Such watches can decorate and enliven any landscape. Especially if live plants not exceeding 50 centimeters in height were used for it. For example, calendula flowers bloom at about six o'clock in the morning and close at four in the evening (even if the day is cloudy).
Historically, there are three types of sundials. Let's get acquainted with each of them.
Now let's talk about the features of the installation process itself. In principle, it is already shown in the image below, but the dial in in this case was actually made for solar time, that is, for those regions where noon occurs exactly at twelve o'clock, in fact, as it should be.
But, unfortunately, in different places noon comes at different times - far from 12 o'clock. Therefore, if your plans include seeing on the dial local time, then it (the dial) will have to be slightly modernized. To do this, the numbers on it must be shifted around the axis so that the shortest shadow (namely, it will be observed at noon) moves exactly along the noon line (north/south).
But the procedure for finding the noon line is a separate story, but you need to know about it before how to make a sundial with your own hands. So, a compass is unlikely to help in this case, since the magnetic and geographic poles of the planet do not coincide: for St. Petersburg this is, for example, about 8 degrees - that is, the “gap” is on average 30 minutes, which is not so little . The most primitive method is the following: take a sheet of plywood, insert a screw or nail into it at an angle of 90 degrees, then place the plywood on a horizontal surface and note the movement of the shadow from the pin every fifteen minutes. After this, connecting all the points with a line in 3 hours, determine the smallest shadow - it will be that same noon line.
Note! Another practical advice, which will help you in manufacturing according to the instructions presented below: before you start using stone or metal, it is advisable to practice with plywood. If you mess it up, nothing bad will happen, but you will gain practical experience.
And last important point. If we are talking about a really good equatorial sundial with a flat frame, then it should have two dials at once - on the lower and on the upper planes. The first will work from autumn to spring, the second - from spring to autumn. Although, as noted above, this does not play a special role for a summer cottage, since people live there mainly in the summer, therefore, one dial will be enough.
Before starting work, you should decide on the location. It is advisable to install them on flower bed or on the lawn, where sunlight will be available throughout daylight hours. What is typical is that the clock can be placed on both a flat and an inclined surface (although in the second option it should be remembered that in order to obtain a shadow of the same length throughout the day, the required angle of inclination must be correctly determined). To calculate it, a special formula is used: 90 degrees are taken and the latitude of the region where your location is located is subtracted from it. country cottage area. But in the case of a flat surface, the length of the shadow falling from the gnomon will change throughout the day.
Of course, a shadow of constant length will look more impressive, although this is not important for the simple reason that the length of the shadow from the gnomon can be increased mentally.
Once you've chosen your location, you can start creating your watch face. Its shape, let’s say right away, can be different, but in most cases preference is given to the good old classics - a circle or a square - since these are the easiest shapes to recreate. And if you don't know how to make a sundial with your own hands and from what, we answer: for this the most different materials. Among them we highlight:
All this can be used to form hour divisions on the frame. But how to divide the area into these divisions? Take a watch (electronic or mechanical - it doesn’t matter) and, based on its readings, every hour mark the position of the shadow cast by the gnomon during the day.
It is advisable to do this on the day that is characterized by the longest duration. Mark each number with a peg - this way you will get different angular readings between the marks.
Note! If we talk about the gnomon itself, then it is the main element of the structure, since the shadow cast by it is a kind of clock hand indicating the exact time.
The final stage will be the design of the watch. First, think about how you will arrange the hour markers so that the crops planted next to each number are provided with everything necessary for normal development and growth. To do this, for example, you can indicate even numbers on the outer circle of the frame, and odd numbers on the inner circle. The diameter of these circles should be approximately 4 meters and 1.5 meters, respectively. It is also important that the plants used for the composition do not grow higher than 50 centimeters, otherwise the shadow of the gnomon will cover them.
Now - straight to work!
The simplest clock design is horizontal, so you can even make it together with your child.
In fact, they can even be created on earth. To do this, draw an even circle and stick a stick into the center - it will serve as a gnomon for you. Draw a straight line north from the center of the circle - this will be noon according to astronomical time. After this, divide the circle into twenty-four equal sectors. Tilt the stick in the north direction at an angle corresponding to the latitude of your particular area. As a result, each sector will correspond to 15 degrees.
Note! Such a sundial will not show the same time as an ordinary clock. After all, solar time, as you know, is not the same as the time of earthly time zones.
Now let's look at how to make a sundial with your own hands, but of a portable type. This will require a small cardboard box(necessarily flat), which can be glued with paper to match the color of the wood for effect.
If we are talking about suburban area, then you can use an even round cut of wood or a flat boulder, and install it at the intersection garden paths. Draw a dial on the surface rectangular shape(if the surface is round, then draw a circle). Draw a line in the center and cut it to secure the gnomon. The main part of the structure is ready!
Now make the gnomon itself, for which you will need to determine the latitude of the area where you live. To make it, you can use either plastic or thick cardboard. To set your watch correctly, take a compass. Point the sharp part of the gnomon to the south, while the north direction will correspond to noon. Insert the gnomon into the slot, seal the joints with glue.
To create divisions, mark the location of the falling shadow every hour. If you divide the surface into twenty-four parts, the clock will show solar time. That's all, good luck with your work!
