The history of sundial already has more than one millennium, but when exactly people began to use them is not known for certain. It has been established that in ancient Egypt, Babylon and China, such devices were used earlier than a thousand years BC. The first mention of determining the time by the sun's rays using a special device dates back to 1306-1290. BC.

Any sundial has a dial with a scale and an hour hand called a gnomon. At the same time, according to their orientation, sundials are divided into horizontal, vertical and equatorial. There are many modifications of them, such as stepped, ring, plate, mirror, bifilar and others.

A sundial is not necessarily a disk having a perpendicular gnomon. So, the dial can be a hemisphere or a ring. The universal equatorial clock can be used at all latitudes. Their design involves two rings perpendicular to each other and a gnomon. To determine the time, you must set the latitude on the scale on one of the rings and set the date. Then the clock is rotated around a vertical axis until a point showing the time appears on the dial. At this moment, one ring is oriented north along the meridian, and the second is parallel to the plane of the equator.

In a horizontal sundial, the plane of the dial is not perpendicular to the gnomon, which should be parallel to the earth's axis, and also point to the north, that is, the angle between them is equal to the latitude of the area. The horizontal clock is convenient and easy to install. To use them at a different latitude, it is enough to change the angle and direct the gnomon to the north.

In ancient Egypt, different models of sundials were constructed, for example, with a horizontal scale that made an angle of 90 degrees with the plane of the local meridian, and their gnomons were obelisks, the height of which usually reached several meters. In order to find out the time from them, the direction indicated by the shadow from the gnomon was used. Another sundial, called "step", had two surfaces, tilted to the east and west, and divided into levels. When the sun moved, the shadow moved from one step to another, and time was determined by its length.

In Central Europe, until the 15th century, wall-mounted vertical sundials, the gnomon of which was horizontal, were widely used. True, the accuracy of determining the time on them was low.

At the same time, there were several variants of road chronometers, for example, ring sundials. They were two rings, in one of which there was a hole for the passage of the sun's ray, and the scales of months and hours were applied to the other. There were also plate clocks, the constructive solution of which included two, sometimes three, identical plates, which had a rectangular shape and were fastened together, while a compass was installed on the bottom.

There is a description of medieval octagonal sticks with four through holes in the handles, into which metal rods had to be inserted to determine the time. Around the same time, window chronometers appeared. They were vertical. The principle of operation of the sundial was to use the window of the town hall or temple as a dial with a translucent scale applied. This made it possible to find out the time while being indoors. A mirrored sundial used a sunbeam reflected by a mirror, which they directed onto the wall of the building where the dial was located.

SUNDIAL
an ancient instrument for measuring time by the sun. This is probably the oldest scientific instrument that has come down to us unchanged and represents the first application by man of his knowledge of the movement of celestial bodies. Although a wide variety of sundials are known, they can all be divided into several basic types. The most common clocks of the horizontal type; they can be seen in many parks and gardens. Clocks with a vertical dial are usually found on walls oriented to the cardinal points. A rotated dial is made for vertical clocks placed on walls that are not oriented to the cardinal points. And the deflected and inclined dials are inclined, respectively, from the observer and towards him. They are commonly found on multi-faced watches that combine three or more dials and are often cube-shaped; they are placed on the roofs and crests of the walls, oriented to the cardinal points. Rotated-deflected and rotated-tilted dials are placed on buildings that are not oriented to the cardinal points. For equatorial and polar watches, the planes of the dials are parallel to the planes of the equator and the polar axis, respectively. Armillary watches have an equatorial dial; they are often used for decorative purposes. They contain from two to ten rings, representing great circles of the earthly and celestial spheres. Hour divisions are plotted inside the equatorial circle, and the rod representing the polar axis serves as the shadow-casting gnomon.

The oldest sundial known today was made around 1500 BC. They are made of stone in the form of a bar about 30 cm long with a vertical T-shaped pommel at one end. Time was counted according to the serifs applied on the bar at unequal intervals. The clock was set horizontally on a plumb line. The T-shaped end turned to the east in the morning, and to the west in the afternoon. The shadow from the upper edge of the "T" indicated the time. These and other ancient solar instruments showed "unequal hours" resulting from dividing the time from sunrise to sunset into a fixed number of parts. Since the length of daylight hours varies throughout the year, the length of the hour also changed: in summer it was longer, and in winter it was shorter.

TYPICAL GARDEN SUNDIAL. They show the true solar time, which differs from standard time in different ways in different seasons of the year. "Gnomon" is the general name for a shadow-casting indicator, and "pointer" is the edge of the gnomon that counts. For accurate time measurement, the angle between the pointer and the horizontal dial must be equal to the geographical latitude of the place.

It was not difficult to make such a watch. Many of them had hour lines for certain days of the year, separated by about a month, as well as for the dates of the equinoxes and solstices. Hour marks for each day were obtained by connecting the points on which the shadow, cast by the gnomon on the days of the equinoxes and solstices, fell at a given hour. Around the beginning of the Christian era, the principle of the oblique gnomon was discovered, which made it possible to introduce "equal hours", which provided more accurate time keeping. It was found that if the rod of the gnomon is directed to the pole of the world, then it becomes, as it were, the axis of that circle parallel to the equator along which the Sun revolves. Dividing it into 24 equal parts, we got hours of the same duration. After that, the manufacture of accurate and evenly running sundials became a simple geometric and trigonometric exercise. The evolution of the sundial went hand in hand with the development of mathematics and astronomy. However, for many centuries only craftsmen familiar with gnomonics owned the art of creating sundials. From the 14th to the 18th century, many artisans showed ingenuity and skill in making high-precision pocket sundials, which became watchmaking gems. The appearance of mechanical clocks did not abolish until the 18th century. using a sundial to keep time. Sundial makers kept pace with mechanical clock designers by inventing solar instruments to determine "mean time". When "standard time" was introduced, the sundial was adapted for this as well. (Standard time is mean solar time at a certain meridian.) In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many very accurate sundials were made to determine standard time, called heliochronometers.
Clock building. In order for a sundial to be useful, it must be built in a suitable place. The latitude of the place must be known, as well as the position relative to the horizon and the meridian of the site or surface on which the hour lines will be drawn.

SUNDIAL FOR "MEDIUM TIME". In the alidade (goniometer with sights), the sun's beam falls on the analemma (a figure-eight figure showing the seasonal deviations of the sun). When the alidade is set so that the light point falls on the mark of the given day, the pointer shows the mean solar time. So these watches "automatically" compensate for the seasonal unevenness in the movement of the sun.

The most important parts of a sundial are the dial, i.e. a surface on which hour lines are applied, and a gnomon to cast a shadow. Pointer, i.e. that edge of the gnomon, whose shadow indicates time, is always directed to the pole of the world. The height of the pointer is the angle at which the pointer is inclined to the dial, and the center of the dial (the point from which the hour lines diverge radially) is the point of intersection of the pointer with the plane of the dial. A node is a special point on the pointer, the shadow of which is used to read the height, declination and azimuth, as well as time. Methods for determining time by the sun. There are three methods for determining time from the sun: by measuring its hour angle from the meridian, as in a conventional garden sundial; by measuring its height above the horizon and by its azimuth (the angle measured in the plane of the horizon, between the direction to the south point and the vertical circle passing through the sun), which requires a vertical pointer from the gnomon. Most stationary sundials measure the hour angle. The other two methods are often used in portable watches.

There are also three ways to indicate the time: a shadow, a light point and a magnetic needle. Most clocks use shade. Light is rarely used in stationary clocks. And in portable devices, all three methods are used. Watches with a magnetic hand are of two types. In the first, hour marks are applied to the compass case, which is usually given a square shape. By turning the case so that the shadows on its side faces disappear, the time is read in the direction of the arrow. In instruments of the second type, hour marks are applied to an elliptical belt, which moves in accordance with the day of the year, as in many azimuth clocks. In this case, the body is also rotated until the shadow on the side faces disappears and the time is read in the direction of the arrow. Clocks of this type are more accurate; their error is determined only by the fact that the magnetic needle deviates from the true direction to the north.
Special sundial. As a rule, a sundial suits a specific place, but you can also make a universal clock for use in any place. Sometimes they are made only to indicate noon or holidays. Nowadays, the most common are horizontal clocks with a triangular gnomon and vertical clocks on the walls of houses. However, many other designs can also be found. Making portable sundials has now become a popular hobby.
see also HEAVENLY SPHERE ; TIME .

Collier Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .

See what "SUN DIAL" is in other dictionaries:

Sundial, an instrument that began to be used about 5000 years ago in the Middle East to determine the time of day. Traditionally, a sundial consists of a short base with a flat top, on which is mounted a gnomon, a column, ... ... Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

They consist of a dial and a rod, the shadow of which, moving along the dial due to the movement of the Sun across the sky, shows the true solar time ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Sun dial) a device for determining the true solar time. Consists of dial and stem. When illuminated by the sun, the shadow of the rod indicates the true solar time on the dial. Samoilov K.I. Marine Dictionary. M. L .: State Military ... ... Marine Dictionary

This term has other meanings, see Sundial (meanings). Wall (vertical) sundial in the Solovetsky Monastery. Shooting time 13:40 Moscow time ... Wikipedia

An instrument used to determine time by the sun. S. hours consist of a rod or plate that casts a shadow, and a dial on which the shadow falls, indicating the true solar time. Depending on the location of the plane of the dial ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

A device for determining the time by the sun. It usually consists of a dial, located. vertically, horizontally or perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the Earth, and a rod or plate that casts a shadow on the dial (see fig.). The position of the shadow indicates ... ... Big encyclopedic polytechnic dictionary

They consist of a dial and a rod, the shadow of which, moving along the dial due to the movement of the Sun across the sky, shows the true solar time. * * * SUNDIAL A SUNDIAL consists of a dial and a rod, the shadow of which, ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

sundial- saulės laikrodis statusas T sritis Standartizacija ir metrologija apibrėžtis Tikrojo saulinio laiko matuoklis. Jį sudaro plokštuma su ciferblatu ir strypas arba plokštelė, kurių šešėlis krinta ant ciferblato. atitikmenys: engl. sundial vok.… … Penkiakalbis aiskinamasis metrologijos terminų žodynas

Sundial- Since Anaximander from Miletus designed the first Greek. S. h., the Greeks constantly worked on their improvement. Mathematical dividing the longitude of the day into 12 parts led to the introduction of the concept of "light ... ... Dictionary of antiquity

Sundial- since Anaximander from Miletus in Babylon. sample design the first Greek C. h., the Greeks constantly worked on their perfections. Mathematical dividing the longitude of the day into 12 parts led to the introduction of the concept of “light changing. hour" ... Ancient world. encyclopedic Dictionary

The oldest mechanism for determining time. Sundial- the simplest device, but it contains the knowledge and observations of our ancient ancestors. Currently sundial used as landscaping. For example sundial parents teach their children the structure of the solar system, and the building itself DIY sundial- the most exciting activity for our children, for example, being on the beach. In the manufacture sundial you need to know some points and features of their design, which we will discuss in this article.

What is a sundial made of?

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 features. Clock face sundial divided into 24 hours instead of 12 hours as in conventional mechanical watches. The dial or gnomon should be tilted above the plane. Sundial do not take into account daylight savings time. Sundial works only 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. To begin with, we need to know two things: what latitude we are at and where north is. If the second part can be established by selection, then the first will have to be prepared. So, we have a compass and we know our latitude (St. Petersburg - 60, Moscow - 55, Nizhny Novgorod - 56, Yekaterinburg - 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 to the north so that the angle between the surface of the earth and the gnomon is equal to our latitude, from the lower end of the gnomon exactly to the north we draw a line - it will be 12 hours of the day according to astronomical time. We draw the remaining lines, dividing the entire circle into 24 equal sectors. Each sector sundial equals 15 degrees.

Here we are in for an ambush. After a competent division of the dial and the inclination of the gnomon, the time showing sundial may differ from the time shown by local television. The problem lies in the standard time and time zones, which were artificially created for convenience. A portable watch face will easily solve this problem, just turn it around until the time is right. With a clock drawn on the sand a little more complicated, this point must be taken into account when starting to paint the dial. For example, you can postpone the marking of 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 there is no time to wait, and creativity is rushing out of you, draw a dial sundial in a draft version and adjust your dial for the error that you got.

In our latitudes sundial they work in the midst of summer hours from 8 am to 8 pm, so it is almost pointless to race numbers between these values. Because of this, often on a round dial, the base of the gnomon is shifted down.

The same horizontal clock, only the gnomon is set clearly vertically, and the dial itself is inclined to the earth's surface at the latitude angle of the place where such clocks are installed.

Vertical sundial.

Vertical Sundial usually attached to the walls of houses. The same inclined gnomon and a dial lined through 15 degrees.

Usually in cities they make a mixed type sundial, i.e. the dial is tilted half the angle, the gnomon is tilted half the angle. Such a construction sundial look more spectacular, in fact, because of what they are made.

Building sundial with your own hands will really captivate your child and, in addition, expand his horizons.

The history of the sundial

Man invented a number of instruments for measuring time, for example, moon, water, candle clocks, which were used until the 18th century, then hourglasses and oil clocks from the 16th to the 18th centuries. However, due to their dependence on external conditions and their fluctuations, as well as due to technical imperfection, these means of measuring time have not found general application.

According to modern chronology, already 4000 years ago, clocks of varying degrees of complexity already existed everywhere. The Egyptians were the first to try to make them, who invented stellar hour charts, and it was possible to determine the night time by watching the rise of the stars. As for daytime, the late Egyptians invented shadow clocks. (sundial). The shadow from the transverse beam gradually crossed the row of marks from sunrise to sunset. A set of instructions for making such a clock was found in the tomb of the pharaoh.

Seti I, who ruled around 1300 B.C. Such simple shadow clocks were the forerunners solar.

Particularly favorable climatic conditions for measuring time with sundial had Egypt. News of the most ancient of the ancient Egyptian sundial refers to the reign of Thutmose III - the first half of the XV century. BC. One of the types of sundial was a stepped clock in the form of an obelisk with two inclined surfaces, oriented along the axis to the east - west 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 lowered until it completely disappeared by noon. Then, in the afternoon, the shadow reappeared in the lower part of the western surface, from where it rose 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 architect Marcus Vitruvius, who worked during the reigns of Caesar and Augustus, describes in his essay "Architecture" at least 13 types of sundials.

These include horizontal hollow hemispherical sundial- the so-called hemispheres. The inner surface of the hemisphere represented the celestial hemisphere with an equatorial 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. BC who also made sundial with semicircular dials divided into five parts (hours) of unequal length. in perfection of the Greek sundial The well-known 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 on the scale. In addition to the horizontal clocks mentioned above, the Greeks also had more advanced vertical sundial, the so-called hemocycles, which they placed on public buildings. All ancient sundials were based on the simple principle of the 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 season.

With the Roman method of dividing day and night into 12 hours, daylight hours were lengthened in spring and summer, and shortened in autumn and winter. The ancient sundial, due to its imperfection, indicated such time, the main feature of which was that, under the influence of the changing inclination of the Sun, the length of day and night hours changed during the year. Later antique and many medieval sundial had curvilinear scales, eliminating 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 set the shadow arrow in the direction of the earth's axis. By this simple innovation, it was achieved that the shadow of the arrow, called the semi-axis, after this innovation, rotated uniformly around the semi-axis, turning every hour by 15 degrees. This made it possible to introduce a uniform time that could be used throughout the year, and the segments corresponding to the hours were of the same length regardless of the changing height of the Sun. The next step in development sundial a sundial with a compass. To the first creator sundial with a corrective compass applies astronomer and mathematician

Regiomontan. with a dial parallel to the plane of the earth's equator, and a gnomon perpendicular to it, were, in fact, the simplest clock with a uniform time scale. The creators of such watches usually proceeded from the fact that they would be used in different geographical latitudes. Sometimes such watches had a geared hand and a small dial with a hand for counting minute intervals with an accuracy of 1 to 3 minutes. Such clocks were called heliochronometers.

There were also equatorial clocks arranged in such a way that their dial indicated directly the mean solar time, not local solar time like a regular equatorial clock. Varieties sundial were very diverse. Interesting roundabouts sundial- one of the options for traveling sundial, which very often served as a decorative pendant at the same time.

The main part of such sundial there was a brass ring a few centimeters in diameter with another movable ring provided with a hole for the 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 the inner surface, there was an hour scale. Before measuring, it was necessary to turn a smaller, usually iron, ring so that the hole for the beam lay at the name of the corresponding month. When measuring time, the clock was held in a position that allowed the sun's beam to pass through the hole in the scale. The so-called equatorial rings were built on a similar principle - similar clocks, on the main ring of which there were two more circles intersecting with each other. Later, a new version appeared with a cross member instead of the third ring.

On one side of this crossbar were indicated the months, 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 beam. The correct position of these clocks when measuring time was when the sun's beam passing through the hole fell on the center line of the equatorial circle. In conclusion of this section, I would like to dwell briefly on one of the models of road 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, when the stick was in a vertical position, cast a shadow on the scale. There should have been 12 scales on the stick. Since the same conditions were valid for the days removed from the solstice at the same time, it was enough to have 8 scales. These watches received the name ashadah according to the season (June-July) in which travel was made. Sundial have never lost their significance and continue to be designed even today. The Romans improved upon the sundial we are familiar with today, and even made solar portable watch convenient for travel. They existed for millennia and remained for a long time a means of checking and coordinating for very unreliable wheel clocks, until they were finally superseded by the invention of the coil spring as a rate regulator (1674), but we will talk about this below.

We examined the structure and functioning of a sundial, which has been improved and changed over the years. Sundial with a height-adjustable pole, compass, and minute scales were a simple and reliable solar time indicator, but they also suffered from some serious shortcomings. Their work was associated with sunny weather and with a limited period of work - between sunrise and sunset. Therefore, new devices 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 of the unit of time, for example, in the form of an interval of time required for a certain amount of substance to flow out in a chronometric device.

Finally found the time to write an article about creating a sundial with your own hands. I was prompted to write this material by valuable comments and edits by user Alexander. At first glance, the creation of a sundial does not quite belong to the topic of survival. But once you understand how a sundial works and build a few samples, you will better understand the principles of orientation, geographic coordinates, and so on. And in general, creating a sundial with your own hands is a very exciting activity. I hope this topic will be of interest to a wide range of readers of our site.

As you know, the sundial is one of the most ancient scientific instruments used by our ancestors to tell the time. We, in addition to the direct definition of time, are interested in understanding the principles of the clock, which are based on the principles of orientation. There are many types of sundials. Let's try to consider some of them.

In its simplest form, a sundial consists of a gnomon that casts a shadow from the sun onto the dial. The shadow works by analogy with the arrow in a regular watch. By the same principle, an improvised gnomon is used to determine geographic latitude and longitude, where determination of solar time and local noon is required.

The sundial does not show local mean time, but true solar time. If you want to see the local time, then you need to adjust and shift the dial values. Since the true noon may be an hour different from the local one. The key to the correct determination of time is a clock correctly oriented in space.

If the gnomon is perpendicular to the plane of the dial and directed to the world pole, that is, parallel to the axis of the world, then the shadow cast from it will lie in the plane of the hour circle. In other words, the plane of the dial will be parallel to the plane of the equator. The resulting angle between the plane of the hour circle and the meridian will be the true solar time, expressed in degrees.

Hour divisions are evenly applied to the dial every 15 °, based on the fact that 1 hour in angular measurement is equal to 15 °. It is this segment that the Earth passes in 1 hour of its rotation. In the horizontal plane, the equatorial clock should be set exactly to True North for the Northern Hemisphere, and vice versa for the Southern Hemisphere. Moreover, the dial for the Southern Hemisphere will have a mirror copy of the Northern. For Russia, the first option is still more relevant.

It is not entirely correct to use a compass to find the North-South line, since the compass direction to the North differs from the true one by the magnitude of the magnetic declination, which can reach 7-8 °, which will be an error of up to half an hour. Although it is possible to find out the magnetic declination and the annual magnetic declination from topographic maps of the area and calculate this value at the moment. It is necessary to determine the true noon of the area, then the shadow from the gnomon will point to the true North.

The advantage of the equatorial clock is the ease of manufacture and uniform graduation of the dial. The main disadvantage of equatorial sundials, unlike other types, is the limited use - they will work only between the spring and autumn equinoxes. For the Northern Hemisphere, the spring equinox is in March, and the autumn equinox is in September.

The layout of the Advanced Equatorial Sundial below allows for almost unlimited use thanks to the dial on the back.

Northern Hemisphere - June 1:00 PM Northern Hemisphere - December 11:00 AM

The layout of the equatorial sundial for self-production can be downloaded here

All that is needed is to print the layout on the printer in the original scale on thick paper, or stick it on cardboard, or on thin plastic. You can check the scale of the printed layout of the sundial with a ruler on the inch scale shown on one of the sheets. The archive contains equatorial clocks in 3 sizes for the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Choose the one you like, but the larger size is more clear and accurate. You also need to find a rod for making a gnomon.

After gluing the layout, the clock must be positioned along the true noon line and the latitude set on the back. And you don’t even need to calculate the angle of inclination of the dial using the formula 90 ° -φ, where φ is latitude. Just connect the back of the gnomon with the latitude of your location. And you can enjoy the ancient way of measuring time))

Unlike the equatorial sundial, the horizontal dial is parallel to the horizon. Therefore, the dial is graduated unevenly. After noon, the shadow rotates a larger angle every next hour. As a rule, for horizontal watches, the gnomon is made in the form of a triangle with a side directed to the pole of the world, i.e. the angle between it and the plane of the dial will be equal to the geographic latitude.

I have not yet found a simple but interesting layout of a horizontal sundial.

Another type of simple sundial. A special feature is the location of the dial line in the West - East direction. All you need is to print the layout, stick it on cardboard, and set the angle of the dial with the gnomon according to the latitude of your area using the scale printed on the back of the watch.

How to make a sundial.

Initially, our ancestors did not have such clocks as they do now. The main counter of time was the sun. The clock itself was a stick stuck in the ground. It was by the shadow of this stick that one could determine the approximate time. It should be noted that the readings are quite accurate.

There are many options for making such a device. They differ in design and features of work. Children will be happy with such an invention and learn numbers more easily. Use sand, sticks. It is better to conduct the experiment when the sand is wet. In dry weather, there is no need to draw numbers. You can just install the stones. Say the numbers several times. Keep track of the time on your watch. Try to do it in a playful way.

Watch options:

• Vertical. They are located on the wall or hanging from ropes.
• Horizontal. Located on the ground or on a horizontal surface
• Equatorial. Set at an angle. In this case, the dial is parallel to the equator line, and the arrow itself is parallel to the earth's axis

Below in the video you can see how to make a simple horizontal sundial.

VIDEO: Sundial for kids

Sundial Ideas for Kindergarten: Photos

There are a huge number of options for making sundials. It can be simple products made of cardboard and paper. In kindergarten, they can be made right on the sand. To do this, you will have to draw simple shapes. This is an entertaining and exciting game for preschool kids. At the same time, kids learn numbers, and understand how to navigate in time. Below are the main sundial options. You can get ideas for your crafts and inventions.

How to make a simple sundial with your own hands?

Such a product is made in the presence of a compass and sticks. It can be replaced with a match or a toothpick.

Instruction:

• Lay the compass on a flat plane, then determine the direction of the cardinal direction NORTH, place the compass board so that the arrow points to the north and 180 degrees of azimuth to the compass number.
• Place a toothpick right in the center of the dial. Everything, the sundial is ready. To determine the time, you just need to watch the shadow of the toothpick. The longer the shadow, the more time.
• When the shadow shows 180 degrees on the dial, then it is equal to 12 o'clock in the afternoon, if 270 degrees, then it equals 18 hours, and 90 degrees - 6 am. That is, one hour of time is equal to 15 degrees on the compass.
• To correctly determine the time, it is necessary that the sun's rays fall directly on the toothpick and the compass display.

The simplest are horizontal clocks. To make them, you will need the simplest and most inexpensive materials.

Materials:

• Compass
• Cardboard
• Pen
• Protractor
• Compass

Instruction:

• Draw a circle and cut it out. Now cut out a triangle from cardboard, one angle of which is right, and the second is equal to the degrees of latitude of your area
• Use the compass to find out where the north is, point the triangular arrow to the north
• After that, using a timer, mark every hour a mark in these places where the shadow from the arrow will fall

This is easy enough to do. As a platform, that is, the foundation, you can use both tiles and sand. Very often, such watches are decorated with pebbles and sand. Many in the country you can see unusual models with a forged arrow.

Instruction:

• Take a piece of plastic and cut a circle out of it. It must be large enough
• Level the area under a clock with sand. Do it with a level. If you are planning the clock for a long time, then you can concrete the site
• Put a circle on the platform. Drill a hole in the center of the circle and insert a stick
• Now, with the help of a watch, mark the shadow where the arrow falls, and write off the necessary numbers
• In the morning there is little sun in the north, so the clock will show starting from lunch

There are several options. Most often, they recommend a dial divided not into 12 parts, but into 24. In this case, it is necessary to use a compass and a ruler, since the divisions should be the same. In this case, initially it is not necessary to apply numbers. This can be done using a timer. Every hour a corresponding mark is applied, which is made by drawing a dot in the place where the shadow falls.

It is also possible to initially not set any labels at all. You can simply cut out a circle, and set an arrow in its center. It needs to be tilted to the north. The angle of inclination must be equal to the angle of latitude. At the same time, take a watch and mark the time every hour.

Navigating the time on such a watch is quite simple. To do this, you need to know some subtleties. You need to look at the arrow and the shadow that falls from it. Now face north. In this case, the minimum length of the shadow at the maximum rise of the sun will be noon. That is, there is almost no shadow at this time. The more time, the shadow increases and moves.

Sundial in landscape design: photo

Now many people in the garden can see a sundial. Of course, they do not show the most accurate time. But at the same time, they still help to understand the approximate time frame. Mostly landscape design uses clocks made of stone, sand or tiles. In addition, sundials are often made from tree stumps. At the same time, the area around should be open. Not a single tree should cover the clock. Below are photos of a sundial in landscape design.

As you can see, making a sundial is quite simple. Choose one of the ways and always control your own time.

VIDEO: Sundial