NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Multiplication by addition of logs
From: Alexandre Eremenko
Date: 2019 Sep 4, 11:53 +0000
From: Alexandre Eremenko
Date: 2019 Sep 4, 11:53 +0000
You added 3 numbers with characteristic -1. This gives -3.
You added mantissas and obtained characteristic 1.
Now (-3)+1=1-3=-2.
This is how characteristic -2 is obtained.
Alex.
________________________________________
From: NavList@navlist.net [NavList@navlist.net] on behalf of Ashley Betts [NoReply_AshleyBetts@navlist.net]
Sent: Wednesday, September 4, 2019 1:16 AM
To: eremenko@math.purdue.edu
Subject: [NavList] Multiplication by addition of logs
Hi All,
I'm finding it a bit difficult to find a source of information on how to
correctly process logs for multiplication. I'm using the haversine method to
reduce an artificial horizon sighting I took in my backyard. My goal it to
only use Nories tables for the reduction. I followed the approach documented
at the start of the tables (and as mentioned on here) but the aspect I'm
struggling with is how the characteristic of the log is adjusted during the
additions for the multiplication aspect of the formula
(hav(LHA)*cos(Lat)*cos(Dec)). I have looked at a few example reductions on
this site but I can not see how the characteristic of the log is adjusted in
these examples. I ended up solving using an excel spreadsheet to see the
actual values which then lead me to understand what characteric I needed for
the resulting log, in this example. I however want to understand how I derive
this value without the assistance of spreadsheet or other source going
forward.
The example that I used involved:
LHA = 322deg
Lat = 35S
Dec = 8deg 49.3min
The values I got from the table were:
log.hav(LHA) = -1.02528
log.cos(Lat) = -1.91336
log.cos(Dec) = -1.99483
If I add the mantissa's the result is 1.93347
The resulting log I need is -2.93347. I can see no association between the
original characteristics (all -1) or the carry over (1) and the resulting -2
that is needed.
Can someone point me in the right direction here with either an explanation of
how to go about it or a source that explains this?
Regards,
Ashley






