3 ms·
Wouldn't this be messed up on longer days, like in summer when the sun rises at about 4 AM and sets at 9PM? Or similarly, winter when the days are really short
by politelemon 4y ago
Wouldn't this be messed up on longer days, like in summer when the sun rises at about 4 AM and sets at 9PM? Or similarly, winter when the days are really short
- mckeed 4y agoYes, at 6:00 you have to know which side to put north and south, and from 6pm-6am it will be North instead of South between the hour hand and 12. If you know the sun rises in the east, though, you can account for that and the trick can still be helpful.
- kqr 4y agoNo. Earth still makes a full rotation in 24 hours, at a fairly constant angular velocity. The only thing that changes during longer days is the height of the sun over the horizon, not its angle along the surface of the planet.
- politelemon 4y agoAh understood thanks
- TobTobXX 4y agoNo, fo the same reasons sun dials still work: The sun rises at a slightly different point on the horizon. The trick even works north of the polar circle where there may be 24h days, as the sun is always in another direction. The sun moves around, whether it is above or below the horizon, so the trick works regardless of length of time the sun happens to be above the horizon.