SUNDIAL

BY: Papatsorn, Pattranith, Jiravan, Chutikarn and Rokaya

BACKGROUND
In history, humans have relied on the Sun and Moon as astronomical timekeeping devices. The sundial is one of
oldest method that is used to find out what time of day it is. The earliest version of a sundial was discovered by the
Egyptian way beyond 6000 years, but most records were lost. where they used a stick or pillar called a Gnomon,
their sundial was t-shaped and a stick which had to be moved according to the time of day so if it was during the
afternoon then they will place it towards the west while if it was in the morning then it will be towards the east.
However a more advanced version was discovered by the Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos, the first
person to say that the sun was in the center of the solar system instead of the earth.

Since the ancient Greeks developed many of the principles and forms of the sundial. There is also a greek version
of the sundial which is called a Pelekinon and the shape was different since the gnomon were placed on a
horizontal or half spherical a face. The new sundial was more accurate and was meant to predict the correct time
throughout the entire year. The way that the sundial functions is based on the sun and the earth's rotation around
the axis because as the earth rotates around its axis, it cast a rod shadow which showcases the change in time.
OBJECTIVE:

We want to create sundial after we

learnt how to make measurement to
determine solar noon and also to
know how we read the Sundial to
indicates the time during day.
 Blue glitter paper
MATERIALS
Tape Cardboard

Glue

Printed out
paper of a
Scissors
sundial
METHODS
- Cut piece of unused paperbox or cardboard
- Cut the printed paper of sundial
- Fold the middle part
- Stick the middle part at the back together
- Stick the sundial to board
- Decorate
- Put it out under the sun
- Record the result
SET-UP
Sundial is used to observe the movement of the sun through the
sky over the different period of a day by marking changes in the
position of a shadow on the scales once each hour. Also, we can
know when is the exactly noon when the shadow hit accurately in
the middle of the graph.
DISCUSSION OF ASTRONOMY CONCEPT
The sundial connects to the concept of Shadow. The length of shadow
depends on the time of the year and time of the day. The Local noon can be
found from the time when the shadow is shortest; At this time the Sun is
highest in the sky and crossing the meridian. The Time is indicated by the
shadow of the gnomon on a dial plate. However, the shadows direction is
independent of the the angular distance of a point north or south of the
celestial equator (declination) of the Sun in the sky and on any day of the year.
The sundial will give roughly the correct 'clock' time on any day of the year.
Analemma phenomenon
Analemma phenomenon
It is known as the changing angular offset of a celestial body when observed from another body.

For example, like when you are observing the Sun from the Earth or observing the Earth from the Moon.

The Analemma helps us to understand why shadows change over the course of the year despite
observations made at the same time each day.
This highlights the fact that our Earth has an axial tilt and has an elliptic orbit.
It also shows that the variations change in different hemispheres.
For example, when the Northern Hemisphere has the lowest point observed (indicating winter), it
corresponds to the highest point observed in the Southern Hemisphere (indicating summer).

The light rays from that reach us from the Sun and when they hit an object ( trees, buildings, people and animals.)
they cast a shadow. The object blocks some of the sunlight and causes the shadow. However, when the object is
transparent (such as a glass window), the sunlight goes through it. If the Suns rays are incident on an object, the
shadow is oriented away from the Sun.
DISCUSSION OF DESIGN
At first, we wanted our sundial to look more interesting and unique so
we use a blue glitter paper as our background and then we stuck the blue
glitter paper on the cardboard so it will not crumble. After we printed the
sundial, we folded the middle part and stuck it so it created a piece that
will gave us shadow. Next we attached our sundial onto blue glitter
paper. By using the tape and glue stick, our sundial will have strong
attached with the background. The design is very basic but effective, we
easily could tell what time it is as soon as we placed it down on the
ground. The easiness of the sundial made it more flexible for us to be able
to read the time.
SUMMARY
Sundial, the oldest devices for measuring time
which depend on the movement and rotation of
the sun. In ancient time, people did not have
clock, so they invented the sundial to know the
time. People in the past was intelligent, for they
had invented useful invention like Sundial to
make our life easier. In this project, we have a
chance to know how to use sundial and how to
make it in simple way.
RECOMMENDATION
Lastly, the sundial that we have made might not be perfect. if
compare to the official one that been made by machine. So, the
recommendation to make the least mistake and more accurate is
measure them over and over. Second one is, the time that we
record the sun shadow, it been recorded from normal watch.
Although, it tells only hours and minutes. Perhaps, if we use
official world clock, it can tell the result more predict and clear.
REFERENCE
How to Read a Sundial. (n.d.). Retrieved November 08, 2017, from
http://www.planetary.org/explore/projects/earth-dial/how-to-read-a-sundial.html

By: Tony Flanders | April 11, 2007. (2017, May 03). How to Make a Sundial the Simple Way.
Retrieved November 08, 2017, from
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-resources/how-to-make-a-sundial/

Sun Dial. (n.d.). Retrieved November 08, 2017, from

https://www.discogs.com/artist/244034-Sun-Dial
REFERENCE
When Time Began: The History and Science of Sundials. (n.d.). Retrieved November 08,
2017, from
https://www.timecenter.com/articles/when-time-began-the-history-and-science-of-sun
dials/

Aristarchus of Samos. (n.d.). Retrieved November 08,2017, from

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aristarchus-of-Samos