Replica of a ring sundial from the Baroque period.
This fully functional replica of a so-called peasant's ring was modelled on a historical ring sundial from 1721, which was devised by Prussian monks.
The ring sundial is also called peasant's ring and is a so-called
altitude sundial and is also known as a sun ring or ring sundial and is worn on a leather strap around the neck.
On the outside is the
inscription: J F M A M J - J A S O N D and on the inside: 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8.
The sun ring was invented as early as the 15th century by the astronomers
Regiomontanus and Peuerbach and was still in use until the 19th century, mainly in the countryside, to determine the time of day.
Link to a historical model...
The ring sundial is made of high-quality
bronze and also available in real
silver-plated.
The ring sundial
measures 3 x 2.3 x 1 cm.
A 2 mm thick, black leather strap in 1 m length is included.
Unlike usual sundials, where the time of day is determined by the direction of the sun, the ring sundial uses the height of the sun to measure the time. The advantage of such an
altitude sundial is that, unlike a "normal" sundial, it can also be used as a mobile device. The disadvantage, however, is that the user must always know whether it is still morning or already afternoon.
Of course, the ring sundial cannot be switched from
summer to winter time and is therefore set to winter time by default. In summer, therefore, you have to add an hour.
On the ring sundial, the clock face is on the inner ring surface. The clock hand is an image of the sun, which is thrown through a
hole in the ring onto the inside of the ring.
However, a ring sundial can only be used at a pole height or a certain latitude. To determine the time of day, the declination of the sun, i.e. the season, must also be known.
To read the time, the ring sundial is suspended and rotated around the vertical so that the light spot falls on the valid declination circle.
The first thing to do is to roughly adjust the setting ring in the
middle to the current date. This is logical, since the so-called diurnal arc, i.e. the position of the sun, changes in the course of the year.
Next, let the ring sundial hang freely from its strap and point the hole in the ring
towards the sun. Ideally, the inner ring should be shaded by the outer
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