It's Time to Record Shadows!

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The sun has started its northward journey, the days are becoming longer (in the northern hemisphere!) and shadows are visible for longer time. Aha! Time! There is some intriguing connection between the shadow and the time. Our shadows change length at different time in the day. So, is it possible to tell the time based on the length and the direction of your shadow? That is exactly how our foremothers used to tell time before the analog and digital clocks were invented. Let’s see if we can do it. (And let me warn you beforehand, this is a looooooooooong project that can run for months 😲)

We prepared this simple Sundial at home. To do this, you require a paper plate, a picture of analog clock’s body (without the hands!) and a pencil. Paste the picture at the back of the plate and make a hole at the center to insert the pencil. And of course, you need to know the cardinal directions: east, west, north and south.

 

(This picture is taken at the end of this experiment as we forgot to take in the beginning 😔)

Next, you need a sunny spot to keep your sundial during the day (The placement is shown in the following picture. Again, we forgot to take the long shot at the noon😆). Now mark the shadows of the pencil at each hour (we missed a few!). We aligned the clock at the noon (by digital watch) and recorded the time through evening and the next morning. 



What did we observe? Let’s note down a few observations before we do this exercise again in mid-March. (Wondering why? Well as Sherlock Homles said ‘never theorize before you get all the data points’. And here we have only one data point. So, wait and watch! This is a long exercise.)

So, coming back to the main observations:

  • First of all, the ‘Solar Noon’ is not in accordance with the clock noon. Here, the solar noon is when the sun is at the peak or the shadow is the shortest. The pictures show that the solar noon is around 1 pm by our standard watch.


  • The shadows are moving in the clockwise direction. Is there any specific reason? Note the sun’s direction. It is visible on your right (in southern sky) if you face the east. You may want to compare this finding later after a few months (particularly if you live in tropics!).

  • Around the noon, the distance between the hourly shadows is large as compared to the morning and evening. What might be the reason? Will this pattern continue throughout the year?

So many questions! But, patience is of the utmost importance. We will come back to this experiment next month. Till then, enjoy the sunny days (when they are not too hot). And don't forget to let us know your observations if you conduct this experiment 😀😀

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