Читать книгу How to predict the weather with a cup of coffee: And other techniques for surviving the 9–5 jungle - Matthew Cole - Страница 44

The ceiling sundial brings the intrigue of the celestial cycle, of solstices and seasons, into your bedroom, and it’s a pretty good way to tell if you’re late for work as well.

Lying in bed one morning looking at the lines of sunlight thrown across the ceiling by reflections from the car windscreen below, I invented the ceiling sundial. I really did, even though Sir Isaac Newton had done the same, 350 years earlier. Whether it’s the father of modern physics, you or me, it’s pretty obvious that an ability to tell the time by looking at your bedroom ceiling is a thing worth having.

All you need is a mirror positioned on your window ledge so that a spot of light is thrown onto your ceiling. This is the simplest form of sundial; it needs the least equipment, it’s fast to set up and, best of all, the space available on the ceiling allows for a bigger dial, giving extreme accuracy.

It only works if you have a south-facing bedroom, or at least a view of the southern sky from your room (anywhere between SW and SE facing is perfect).

As well as a south-facing room and available ceiling you need:

 a small mirror

 glue or tape

 a pencil

 a clock.