Sundials

A sundial is a device that tells the time of day by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day.

Sundials

The style is the timetelling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a sharp, straight edge.

Sundials

The arth makes a complete rotation about its a!is in "# hours and hence, turns by $% degrees every hour. &ence, by making a flat circular disk divided into sectors of $% degrees and aligning the a!is of the disk with the a!is of arth's rotation, one would be able to read the hour using the shadow of the vertical rod placed at the center of the disk. This is the principle behind sundials.

Sundials

As the sun moves across the sky, the shadow-edge aligns with different hour-lines.

Sundials

All sundials must be aligned with their styles parallel to the a!is of the arth's rotation to tell the correct time throughout the year.

Sundials

The style's angle from the horizontal will thus e(ual the sundial's geographical latitude.

Sundials ) Apparent solar time

Sundials measure time based on the actual position of the Sun in the local sky. This time is called the apparent *or local or true+ solar time.

Sundials ) ,oon

Noon is the precise moment when the Sun is on the meridian *which is an imaginary line passing from north to south through the zenith+ and the sundial casts its shortest shadow.

Sundials ) ,oon

-efore noon, when the Sun is on its way to meridian, the apparent solar time is ante meridian *a.m.+ and past noon the apparent solar time is post meridian *p.m.+.

Sundials ) ,oon

The Sun is directly overhead at solar noon at the Equator on the equinoxes.

Sundials ) ,oon

The Sun is directly overhead at solar noon at the Tropic of Cancer *latitude "/0 "12 $13 ,+ on the June solstice ...

Sundials ) ,oon

... and at the Tropic of Capricorn *"/0 "12 $13 S+ on the December solstice.

Sundials ) 4ean Solar Time

ven though the average solar day is "# hours, the actual length of the solar day varies throughout the year due to the difference in the speed of revolution of arth around the Sun.

Sundials ) 4ean Solar Time

5ue to this effect, a watch will not remain perfectly synchronized with the sundial over the year. &ence it is much more convenient to define a time in terms of the average of the apparent solar time. This is called the mean solar time and is the basis of standard time.

Sundials ) (uation of Time * oT+

The value of the difference between mean and apparent solar time is called the Equation of Time. The e(uation of time describes the discrepancy between two kinds of solar time. As we see before, these are )

Apparent solar time *or true solar time+, which directly tracks the motion of the sun, and Mean solar time, which tracks a fictitious 6mean6 sun with noons "# hours apart

Sundials ) (uation of Time * oT+

Apparent *or true+ solar time can be obtained by measurement of the current position *hour angle+ of the Sun, or indicated *with limited accuracy+ by a sundial.

Sundials ) (uation of Time * oT+

If a sundial is used to determine the time it rapidly becomes evident that it does not indicate the same time as clock time. The difference amounting to some $1 minutes at certain times of year.

Sundials ) (uation of Time * oT+

The e(uation of time has two causes)

The plane of the arth's e(uator is inclined to the plane of the arth's orbit around the Sun ...

Sundials ) (uation of Time * oT+

... and

The orbit of the arth around the Sun is an ellipse and not a circle

Sundials ) (uation of Time * oT+

As a result )

Sundials ) (uation of Time * oT+

A caution) some almanacs show the e(uation of time with opposite signs to those used here.

To a dialist, a minus means the sun is running fast and needs the minus to 6slow it down6. To an astronomer, a minus means the sun is 6slow6 or 6minus6 and thus needs a plus to correct it.

,either is right, neither is wrong, it is 7ust that astronomers and dialists have different perspectives 88

Sundials ) (uation of Time * oT+

Two different charts showing the same thing 88

Sundials ) (uation of Time * oT+

There are four days when the EoT is effectively zero. They are, roughly:

April 15 June 15 Septem er 1 !ecem er "5.

Sundials ) (uation of Time * oT+

The e!treme values of the oT are )

early ,ovember when the Sun is fast by $1 minutes *so we must to subtract these minutes to correct the time+ around 9ebruary $$th when the sun is slow about $# minutes *so we must to add these to correct the time+

#$%&'(&)

*&()+A),

&ow to read the hour in a Sundial :

;hen the sun crosses the meridian, it is said to be local noon. The time based on that reference is called the Local Apparent Solar Time. &owever, all countries have been using the same time standard for more than a century. <eople living in Spain have the same time as those living in =ermany or Austria, because they are in the same time zone. This particular zone is called >entral uropean Time, ?T@$, i.e. one hour ahead of the standard meridian of =reenwich.

&ow to read the hour in a Sundial :

To correct a sundial reading to find legal time, add *or substract 88+ the e(uation of time to the indicated or local apparent time *AAT+

&ow to read the hour in a Sundial :

Aet's see an e!ample )

Suppose that this picture was taken on Buly 1th in <orto do Son *which is not true+ The sundial shows about $$h $Cm -ut, what time is it really :

&ow to read the hour in a Sundial :

Aet's check the oT table )

&ow to read the hour in a Sundial :

Dbviously we have a problem 8

In the first table we read) Buly 1 ---E #.#/ minutes In the second table we read) Buly 1 ---E -#.#F minutes we use the first table to add their values to those obtained by the sundial, or we must to use the second table and subtract the values to indicates by the sundial

Geally we have not a problem )

Bust remember that in 9ebruary the Sun is 6slow6 and that in ,ovember is 6fast6, this way we will know what to do with the different tables of the e(uation of time.

&ow to read the hour in a Sundial :

In summary )

Local Apparent Time : 11h 1-m .ocal apparent time / &oT 0in the first ta le of &oT1 2 11h 1-m / 3m 34s 2 11h 13m 34s or .ocal apparent time 5 &oT 0in the second ta le &oT1 2 11h 1-m 5 053m 36s12 11h 13m 36s 0)eally it doesn7t matter the few seconds in difference1 So, Local Mean Time 2 11h 13m 35s , more or less

&ow to read the hour in a Sundial :

Equivalence of Minutes of Time and Degrees of Rotation

A complete rotation of the earth may be e(uated with "# hours of true time. -ecause of this, measures of time and measures of angle are interchangeable. The period of $ day is e(ual to $ rotation therefore )

&ow to read the hour in a Sundial :

8 cont. 9 Local Apparent Time 2 11h 1-m Local Mean Time 2 11h 13m 35s 8 more or less 9 Longitude correction 2 :&S ;orto do Son is : <= >est 0so 2? < @ 3 2 / 4A minutes1 Time zone /1 h, from Breenwich meridian time then Standard Mean Time : 11h 13m 35s / 4A m / 1h 2? 1"h 5-m 35s Standard Summer time : / 1h 2? 14h 5-m 35s

What time solar noon will occur, indicated by the sundial at 12 hours?

Sundials ) ?niversal Time

9or purposes of navigation and astronomy *especially interferometry in radio astronomy+, it is useful to have a single time for the entire arth. 9or historical reasons, this 6world6 time was chosen to be the mean solar time at =reenwich, ngland *C degrees longitude+, and this time is called the Universal Time *UT+.

Sundials ) !amples

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Sundials ) !amples

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4oondials ) !amples

-asic Geferences

http:CCen.wiDipedia.orgCwiDiCSundial http:CCcurious.astro.cornell.eduCtimeDeeping.php http:CCen.wiDipedia.orgCwiDiC#oon http:CCen.wiDipedia.orgCwiDiCSolarEtime http:CCaa.usno.navy.milCfaFCdocsCeFtime.php http:CCwww.rmg.co.uDCeGploreCastronomy5and5timeCtime5factsCthe5eFuation5of5time http:CCwww.shadowspro.comChelpCenCreadhour.html >hy the Sun is sometimes fast and sometimes slow 0supplemental to the ooD :llustrating Shadows1 8 http:CCwww.illustratingshadows.comCwww5eFuation5of5time.pdf 9 http:CCwww.sunlit5design.comCinfosearchCeFuivalence.php