Introduction to Solar Motion Geometry on the Basis of a Simple Model

Institute of Physics Publishing. The Public Ledger Building Suite 929, 150 South Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 215-627-0880; Fax: 215-627-0879; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://journals.iop.org

Y

13

Mathematical Models; Motion; Geometry; Astronomy; Science Instruction; Energy Conservation; Physics; Foreign Countries; Secondary School Science

10.1088/0031-9120/45/6/010

0031-9120

By means of a simple mathematical model developed by the authors, the apparent movement of the Sun can be studied for arbitrary latitudes. Using this model, it is easy to gain insight into various phenomena, such as the passage of the seasons, dependences of position and time of sunrise or sunset on a specific day of year, day duration for different latitudes and seasons, and time dependence of the solar altitude reckoned from the horizontal plane. We present simulations of the Sun path alongside animated data. We show that the model adopted can also be used to explain the principle of a horizontal sundial and to determine shadow areas. We give recommendations as regards how to build energy-effective houses and how to optimize solar cell positions. (Contains 8 figures.)

As Provided

22

2011

EJ931206