NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Lost people DO follow circles, says research
From: James N Wilson
Date: 2009 Aug 21, 20:17 -0700
From: James N Wilson
Date: 2009 Aug 21, 20:17 -0700
This somehow reminds me of learning some years ago about an ancient method to maintain orientation while crossing the Gobi desert. Primitive bevel gears were somehow used on a cart to maintain the orientation of a statue on a vertical axis. As long as both wheels rotated the same amount, the statue pointed straight ahead. But if one rotated more than the other, the statue pointed in a different direction, indicating that the cart had turned. Alas, I can't find anything about this now, and my old references have been lost. But it is interesting, even if I can't now figure out how it was done. I do remember that it was ingeniously simple. I'm remembering a bit more. This was offered to me as the first use of the bevel gear principle, and it was before the internet, so what I saw was hard copy. I wish I had it now. Jim Wilson ____________________________________________________________ Weight Loss Chocolate Boost your energy, curb your appetite, and shred unwanted pounds! --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ NavList message boards: www.fer3.com/arc Or post by email to: NavList@fer3.com To , email NavList-@fer3.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
