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The position of the shadow at a given time of day will vary slightly with the seasons. For example, if at 2:00 p.m. on 31 August the shadow is exactly on the 2, at 2:00 p.m. on 31 October it will be off a little.

Of course for a sundial to be mostly correct most of the time, it has to be positioned according to where it is in the world. And of course, it will never take into account the fact that (in some countries) we switch to Daylight Saving Time part of the year.

Here's an improved answer: Sundials are inaccurate for 3 reasons :

1) There's obviously the difficulty of getting an exact reading for "minutes"

using are relatively crude device like a sundial.

2) Sundials measure "apparent solar time". Clocks use "mean solar time".

"apparent solar time" varies a bit during the year because of the Earth's orbit and axial tilt. "Mean solar time" averages out these differences to give us a day of exactly 24 hours. So, a correction needs to be applied to get from the time the sundial shows to the time on a clock.

3) The other correction that's needed is for your longitude within your particular time zone. (Also "Daylight Saving" has to be allowed for, of course.)

This adjustment is not really because the sundial is inaccurate, but it is needed to get to the standardised time shown by a clock.

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Some sources for of measuring time in the past were sundials, and hourglasses


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They are very inaccurate at night and most aren't designed to fit on the wrist.


Why do sundials need to be adjusted?

we have to adjust sundials to see the shadow and time


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The sundial device was and is a very accurate tool of measuring units of time. The sundial devices uses the sun to pinpoint exactly what time it is because of where the shadow falls.


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Sundials are not as accurate as modern timekeeping devices due to variations in the position of the sun throughout the year and changes in daylight saving time. They also rely on clear skies and sunlight, so they are not effective during cloudy or nighttime conditions. Additionally, sundials can be impacted by shading from buildings or trees, affecting their functionality.


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Measuring shadows is useful for determining time of day because the length and direction of a shadow change based on the position of the sun in the sky. By measuring the length and direction of a shadow cast by an object, we can estimate the angle of the sun and roughly determine the time of day. This method is commonly used with tools like sundials.


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