Nope, it won't work in the southern hemisphere.....

Posted by Fedora from ppp-193.col.cableone.net on May 30, 2001 at 00:14:45:

In Reply to: I just got a hold of an Indy-esque item... posted by Fall Guy on May 29, 2001 at 16:54:39:

: It's a portable wooden sundial to carry in your relations utensil-bag.
: ;)

: 1.You set your latitude and the current month on two sliding scales.
: Then you unfold the clock. It looks like an orb.

: 2.When you let the clock dangle from its string, the sunlight will
: fall through a pinhole aperture and produce a bright point of light on
: the time dial (the one with Roman numerals) and thus tell the time.

: 3. Then you have to look up a correction factor (according to month
: and date) on a table.

: It seems that I can get within 15 minutes of the actual time. Not too
: bad...

: Here's a question for our scientifically inclined compadres:
: The latitude scale goes from about 27 degrees to about 80 degrees;
: North only, I presume. Will this thing work on the southern
: hemisphere? Do I have to reverse the latitude scale? What to do?

: FG

: PS: The actual sundial is a bit smaller than the one on the pic.

: PPS: Lara will be looking for a funky clock, I think...

...the relationship of the position of the sun versus the month is only good for the northern hemisphere. I think you would have to re-calibrate it.

Follow Ups:

• I need an astronomer's help. Fall Guy 00:32:45 5/30/2001 (0)

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