What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a sundial?

Answer 1

The sundial has many advantages and disadvantages.

its main advantage is that it does not require any electricity power it .its also easy to make and is one of the simplest clock.

However it has numerous disadvantages as well.It can not be used at night because without the sunshine the sundail will be useless.Another problem is that it has to be kept outside and can not be worn on the wrist.

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Designed and set correctly, the sundial is not only one of the simplest clocks but also perhaps the most accurate and reliable. The angle of the traditional type's triangular "gnomon" has to suit the latitude in which it will be used, although the calculation is not difficult (I think from memory it is actually the angle of latitude but I stand to be corrected); and of course the dial has to be aligned correctly and usually with respect to local noon! Night-time... well, yes, but they tend not to work very well in cloudy weather either!

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It does not have to be kept outside, as long as it's in sunlight for long enough each day to be useful. There is a type that consists of a black screen with a specially-shaped slit in it, mounted on a window. There are other sun-dial designs not suitable for leaving out in all weathers. If you were to use a sun-dial only for verifying mechanical clocks it need be useable only for a couple of hours or so a day, around a set time like mid-day.

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Oh, and another advantage - made properly, with appropriate materials, a sun-dial could last for centuries.... notwithstanding Continental Drift necessitating re-calibration every few decades if you are fussy enough! (Oh yes! The Greenwich Meridian's physical marker line is slightly away from its local noon because the European Continent has ambled NE at its roughly 20mm/year average velocity since the meridian was established, hence the move to UTC when very accurate trans-world time-keeping is necessary.)

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You say it can't be worn on the wrist. That's very true, but sort of conversely you can use an analogue wrist-watch as an approximate compass when the Sun is visible.

Answer 2

Advantages:
Saves a lot of energy around the world.
Might save you a little tiny bit in your electric bill, if you do it.

Disadvantages:
You might need to get up earlier than you usually have to.
Or you might need to wake up later... good thing =]
You need to get used to the new time, will take a while to get used to it.

Answer 3

When it is cloudy, you can be late and it isn't your fault.