Sundial science lesson
David
Harber recently visited the College to give an exciting talk to A-level physics
pupils about the strip sun dial that he designed for the newly opened Nugee
building. David is an award-winning artist predominantly known for his outdoor
sculptures which are installed in a variety of prestigious settings
internationally. During the talk he introduced basic principles of declination,
latitude and longitude before introducing different types of sun dials and
explaining how the gnomon is aligned to give the correct reading. David
explained that after the mathematics had been completed to calculate an hour
marker calculation, a computer model was produced
to model how the hour marker angle varies with time. The group then went
outside to admire the sun dial and heard about how it was engineered from
folded marine-grade stainless steel. It was a fascinating opportunity for
pupils to delve into a specialist intersection of design, engineering and
physics.
