| Released: March 11, 2012 Retired: March 12, 2012 |
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Description[]
Sundials have been relied upon for thousands of years to tell the time of day. These early time pieces began as simple devices, yet over time became increasingly complex. Ancient civilizations used sundials to not only track the time of day, but also to track seasons, solstices and equinoxes. The sundial is also considered one of the oldest scientific instruments. It operates on the principle that the shadow of an object will travel from one side of the object to the other over the course of the day as the sun moves across the sky from sunrise to sunset. For our quest today, we will look at the sundial through time!
Your reward for completing this quest will be 1,000 credits, and a Arc Sundial!
Prizes[]
| Name | Price | Location | Released/Retired | Photo | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 Credits | Released: May 22, 2008 | 
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| Arc Sundial | Quest Prize | VFK Sundial Quest 2012 | Released: March 11, 2012
Retired: March 12, 2012 |
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Animated Item |
Questions[]
1. Sundials are composed of relatively few parts. To construct a sundial, you need the sun, a vertical piece of some sort, such as a pillar, triangle, or stick, and markings to indicate time periods. The vertical stick part has its shadow cast on the ground and the shadow length and position indicate the time of day. What is this piece which casts the shadow called?
- Hands
- Time Stick
- Gnomon
- Grid Marker
2. When the sun shines on the gnomon (pronounced no-men), a shadow appears. This shadow falls on the ground, or base, and displays the time. The fact that the earth moves in an elliptical orbit around the sun and that the earth is tilted on its axis 23.5 degrees, affects the positioning of a sundial. The latitude and longitude also affect the time indicated by the sundial. Go to Stonehenge in Medieval Age and say: "Time is what prevents everything from happening at once!"
3. The earliest sundials were simple obelisks constructed around 2500-2000 BC, by the Egyptians and Babylonians. These obelisks were tapering four-sided monuments which enabled the people to divide the day into two parts, morning and afternoon. In the Northern Hemisphere, what should the Gnomon be pointed at to have the sundial be the most accurate?
- North Celestial Pole
- Toward sunrise
- Toward sunrise
- South Celestial Pole
4. By recording the position of the shadow made by the obelisk, the Egyptians could determine not only noon, but a number of other solar events such as the shortest and longest days of the year. They would add markers around the base of the obelisk to show these time periods. The biggest drawback to these sun clocks was that they were not moveable. Go to the Wild Woods in Western Age and say: "Yesterday, today, and tomorrow!"
5. Over time, sundials were refined to become more accurate. An example of this dates back to around approximately 800 BC. This Egyptian shadow clock was composed of a straight base where a scale of six time divisions was inscribed and had a raised crosspiece at one end. This ancient sundial was comprised of what material?
- Wood
- Metal
- Stone
- Plastic
6. To operate the shadow clock, the base would be positioned in an east-west direction. The crosspiece was at the east end in the morning and the west end in the afternoon. The shadow cast by the crosspiece onto the base told the time. Go to the Galactic Trading Post in Space and say: "The present is a point just passed!"
7. Ancient writings also reveal information about sundials. In the writings of Berossus, a Babylonian priest, he described a sundial around 300 BC, as a cubical block. A half-sphere had been cut into the block and at the center, a small gnomon was placed. The shadow of the gnomon moved in an arc subdivided into twelve even parts. The length of the hours change as well as the length of the days, depending on the season. What were these early variable hours called?
- Variety hours
- Longitude hours
- Temporary hours
- Permanent hours
8. Sundials were the primary time-keeping device for the world until around 1300 AD, when mechanical type clocks were developed. As part of this development, the definition of an "hour", as related to time-keeping, was changed to be a fixed duration of time, rather than a sub-division of the number of hours of sunlight in a given day. These hours were called "Equal hours."
Go to the waterfall in Australia and say: "Fall back, Spring ahead!"
9. Between 250 BC and 100 AD, the Greeks improved sundials through the use of geometry. An interesting advancement to the sundial was a device called an analemma, used by Ptolemy. The device projected shadows geometrically onto planes which were slanted at various angles relative to the horizontal plane. In the Middle Ages, portable sundials became popular. Which of the following was not a portable sundial device?
- Obelisk
- Equatorial bow
- Diptych
- Astrolabe
10. Around 100 BC, an amazing octagonal shaped tower was built in Athens, which included a combination of sundials, a water clock and a wind direction vane. This structure, called the Tower of the Winds, had sundials facing the different cardinal compass points. Go to the Victorian House in the Victorian Age, and say: "Time flies when we're having fun!"
Answers[]
1. Gnomon
2. Go to Stonehenge in Medieval Age and say: "Time is what prevents everything from happening at once!"
3. North Celestial Pole
4. Go to the Wild Woods in Western Age and say: "Yesterday, today, and tomorrow!"
5. Stone
6. Go to the Galactic Trading Post in Space and say: "The present is a point just passed!"
7. Temporary hours
8. Go to the Waterfall in Australia and say: "Fall back, Spring ahead!"
9. Obelisk
10. Go to the Victorian House in the Victorian Age, and say: "Time flies when we're having fun!"