This type of clock is also known as the sundial. It was not the Greeks who began this subject, although usually this type of instrument was invented by them. In this case we find the Egyptians, who as early as the XNUMX century B.C. had already begun to divide night and day into equal parts. The division of day and night into equal parts began through the appearance of certain stars. This is how they were able to think and create different ways of knowing the passage of time.

The problem with this form is that it did not carry over. Some research reflects that the pyramids of Egypt were already oriented in a certain way so that the passage of time could be known. In addition, the obelisks designed during that era also embodied the idea of the solar dimension. Later, centuries later, in Greek and Roman times, there are many documents attesting to the manufacture of sundials.

How does it work?

The sundial is based primarily on the shadow that the stylus casts on the surface. Since the sun has different orientations as the Earth makes its rotational motion, different hours of the day can be fixed on the surface, and the stylus will project a shadow according to the time of day we are in.

You have to think about the visible motion of the sun on any given day. The sun rises in the east, passes through the south at noon, and sets in the west. Noon is considered 12:00 a.m. The presumed movement of the sun during this period is constant motion. It disappears in the west and moves east again, but when this happens, it is night for us. Thus we see that the entire path of the sun has a 360 degree angle in about 24 hours. The speed at which it moves is 15 hexadecimal degrees per hour.

Knowing this, we must think that the sun makes an apparent motion, rotating around the axis of the earth. If we want to know what time it is according to the motion of the Sun, we must have a representation as faithful as possible to the rotational motion of the Earth. The style of our sundial must match the tilt of the Earth’s axis. This means that the inclination that this style should have in relation to the vertical of the place where we are located should be equal to the latitude at which we are located.

How to make a sundial

We’re going to talk about the necessary guidelines to make a sundial as simple as possible. In this case, making a sundial starts with placing the stylus or style of the direction of the earth’s axis. That is, approximately dWe should place the style in the north-south direction. In order for this style to be in the correct position, we must ensure the latitude of where we are. The latitude of the area where we live can be found from the coordinate map.

Once we have placed the stylus, we have already determined our latitude. Thanks to this latitude, we know the slope at which we should place the stylus. Now we just need to draw a quadrant in which the shadow is reflected and mark the hours of the day. In the quadrant or on the board we will somehow place a sundial of the type we want to build. Here you have to let your imagination run wild. Each type of sundial will have an individual design according to our preferences.

Types of sundials
We are going to analyze what are the different types of sundials. These types will differ depending on the orientation of your quadrant. We have the following types:

Equatorial sundials: – These are those with the quadrant positioned in a plane parallel to the earth’s equator. Here we have a well-defined stylus slope and this plane is fairly easy to place. We just need to know that they are tilted 90 degrees horizontally.
Horizontal clocks: those clocks where the dial is perpendicular to the vertical of the place. They are easy to construct and interpret because the marked area extends northward, and the quadrant will not be marked at all hours of the day.
Vertical sundial: this is the type of model in which the style is oriented in a north-south direction. The dial shows the hours of the day, and the dial is positioned vertically. Keep in mind that we can orient the quadrant north or south, east or west.
Other types of sundials: There are other types of sundials that are less common, but can be just as effective. Here we find parson’s clocks portable, upright, and small. These clocks got this name because shepherds used them to determine the time of day when they had to take their cattle out to pasture. Another type of sundial is a diptych clock. This clock is distinguished by the presence of two quadrants, divided into one vertical and another horizontal. These two quadrants are connected with each other by an axis. In this case, we find that style is the thread we think of when we place the two quadrants perpendicularly. Usually they need a compass to correctly mark the hours.