Dial a Compass

Dial a Compass

What does this mean?

It is a bit of a play on words but simply put this blog is about dials and compasses.

The "Dial" refers to sundial:

An instrument showing the time by the shadow of a pointer cast by the sun on to a plate marked with the hours of the day.

The "Compass" refers to compass:

An instrument containing a magnetized pointer which shows the direction of magnetic north and bearings from it.

NOTE 

Use the built in Google Translate at the top right of this blog to see the content of in a language of your choice.  This blog is best viewed with Google Chrome.

Why sundials and compasses?

Both of these are a bit of a related passion in part because of their history and their immense variety.

The principle purpose of both is quite simplistic - show me the time and show me the way.
However the manner in which this is achieved has gone from a historic need to know to aesthetic beauty with function but no longer the need.

Show me the time

As you are beginning to see sundials do not always come in handy, back pocket sizes.

"Oriental Light" sculpture - giant sundial of steel - Pudong, Shanghai, China

Show me the way

Even compasses are not always as portable as you might imagine.

Admittedly this is only a compass rose in this case - but... what a rose.
This was found when reading A Rose Is A Rose an article from the UC Santa Barbara Department of Geography but the imagery is readily visible using Google Earth, Google Maps etc., by homing in on the Edwards Air Force Base, Los Angeles, California, USA.

A rather large compass rose at Edwards Air force Base, Los Angeles, California, USA