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A sundial on a gravestone in Kilbirnie Auld Kirk, Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, Scotland. The motto at top reads, The motto at top reads, "Life is but a passing shadow, the shadow of a bird on the wing."
A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat plate (the dial) and a gnomon, which casts a shadow onto the dial.
1578 A dial (maker unknown) for Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586). Decoration included a ropework border, and scrolls at the end of the chapter ring. 1580s Simple punched dials- for use by the less wealthy, though the gnomon started to have a complex shape. 1590 Isaack Symmes, a 'gouldsmith'(sic) was producing dials.
Before the invention of the clock the sundial was the only way to measure time. After the invention of the clock, the sundial maintained its importance, as clocks needed to be reset regularly from a sundial, because the accuracy of early clocks was poor. A clock and a sundial were used together to measure longitude. Dials were laid out using ...
An example of the phrase as a sundial motto in Redu, Belgium.. Tempus fugit is typically employed as an admonition against sloth and procrastination (cf. carpe diem) rather than an argument for licentiousness (cf. "gather ye rosebuds while ye may"); the English form is often merely descriptive: "time flies like the wind", "time flies when you're having fun".
The sundial is named after the gold-painted Pelican on an armillary sphere at the top of the pillar. [40] " Pelican Sundial" is a misnomer, as the pillar contains 27 separate sundials. [ 41 ] Nine of the sundials are found easily: four on each face of the square frustum beneath the pelican, four beneath each coat of arms on the cuboid and one ...
Heraldic plaque dated to 1466 with Habsburg motto F.I. A.E.I.O.U. Left part is Habsburg fesse coat of arms and right part is Counts of Celje coat of arms, united under Imperial double-headed eagle A.E.I.O.U. monogram of Frederick III Sundial in Meran (now Italy) featuring an A.E.I.O.U. inscription
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