Chapter 696 Star Clock
The aurora provided better visibility for everyone and also accelerated the three idiots' progress.
Sled dogs have great endurance and if they run freely, they can run for most of the day without any problems. However, considering the load and number of dogs, after two hours, Bifang pulled the three sleds together, stopped the sled and prepared to take a rest.
"In two hours, we ran at least 25 kilometers, which is much faster than my walking speed."
The normal speed of humans walking on the snow is only about three kilometers per hour. In other words, if Bifang did not have the help of sled dogs, it would take at least a whole day to walk this distance. However, all this was done by the three guys in front of him in just two hours.
"Of course, this is the speed at the beginning when I'm full of energy. It won't be that fast later. The speed may be reduced by half. But it's still much faster than walking by myself. Maybe we can reach the coast ."
Bifang touched Goudan who was panting heavily, took out the dog bowl, poured some water and food for the three idiots, then sat aside to enjoy the beautiful night view and chat with the audience.
Half an hour later, Bifang, who had rested, moved forward again. It was not until the third rest that some viewers raised questions, because they found that Bifang's rest time was too regular, running for two hours and then resting for half an hour.
It would be fine if it was any other time, but how did Bifang determine the time?
"Ah, this is actually very simple." Bifang pointed to the sky.
Although there is no watch or sun, Bifang still has many ways to judge time and is not affected by time, such as looking at the moon in the sky or directly asking the audience in the live broadcast room.
Ahem, of course, the last one is suspected of cheating. Unless it is an emergency, Bifang will usually choose to judge in his own way.
"In the wilderness, judging time is usually not that important, because most of the time you don't actually need it."
Survival in the wild is different from survival in the city. No one tells you what to do and when to do it. Everything is up to you.
To survive, all you need is food, water and fire.
The acquisition of the three is only slightly related to time when hunting for food, but the relationship is not very large. Just avoid the time periods of dusk and night when predators are most active.
Before this, Bifang had never encountered the polar night phenomenon. He always worked from sunrise to sunset and returned home at sunset. However, now that he is pulling a sled with dogs, he needs to use time to decide on regular rest periods to improve efficiency.
"That's why I never talked about how to tell time. It's actually very simple."
“The sun, moon, and stars rise in the east and set in the west, moving endlessly. The rise and set of celestial bodies is like a natural clock that tells the time. In astronomy, by using this natural phenomenon and observing the stars with precision instruments, the exact time can be determined.”
"But we can also use a simple method to look at the stars and determine the approximate time. Although the exact procedure is different, the basic principle remains the same. Although it is not usually used in the wilderness, it is still useful for night travelers."
[Uh, stars can also tell time? ]
[I can understand talking about the sun, and even the moon, but isn’t it a bit exaggerated to talk about the stars?]
[I always thought that stars can only be used to determine direction. Lao Fang, are you confused? Are you confused?]
[Facts have proven that all those who doubted Lao Fang were finally proven wrong. Just take out your notebook and start studying! ]
Some people have expressed doubts about Bifang's statement. As for the sun and the moon, it is easy to judge the time with the former, and it is not impossible with the latter, but it is more difficult. However, the stars are outrageous!
[By the way , why is there no moon today? Isn't it sunny? ]
Speaking of the moon, many viewers suddenly noticed that it was a sunny day with many stars, but there was no moon in the sky?
"Of course not, when the 'Northern Night' comes. Only for half of the month can we see the moon, which is either full or crescent, rotating around the sky all day long. The other half of the month, even the moon cannot be seen. Obviously, this is the half of the month when the moon cannot be seen, otherwise I would not use the stars to judge the time."
[Details, I want to learn]
Bifang raised one hand and pointed to the sky: "Do you see the Big Dipper up there?"
In the first person perspective, the audience easily found the Big Dipper that Bifang was pointing to and responded one after another.
"I said before that we should face north and then extend the two pole stars at the mouth of the Big Dipper by more than five times, and we will find the North Star."
"Now we take the North Star as the center of the clock face, and the line connecting the North Star and the North Star as the hour hand. Divide the clock face into twelve equal parts: 12 on the top, 3 on the right, 6 on the bottom, and 9 on the left. This is the Big Dipper clock."
Since everyone's line of sight is consistent, what Bifang sees and what he points to is exactly the same, so there is no possibility of misreading. With step-by-step guidance, the audience can easily imagine a big clock.
[Beidouxing Clock, what a cool name]
"Since the stars rise in the east and set in the west, the direction of the hour hand of the Big Dipper clock is opposite to that of an ordinary clock. After 12 o'clock, it points to 11 o'clock, then 10, 9, 8, 7... and so on. Although the direction of the hour hand of the Big Dipper clock is different from that of an ordinary clock, it can give a time that is almost the same as that of an ordinary clock."
"When observing, just remember the local longitude. Remember, longitude is expressed in time. Because the earth rotates 360 degrees, it takes 24 hours, so you can divide the local longitude by 15 to get the time. Recognize the 'hour' number indicated by the hour hand of the star clock, as well as the month and day of observation, and finally subtract it from a constant to get the required time."
"This method can be written down in a simple formula: Capital time = 36.4 - longitude - 2 (hour number + M)."
"M is the number of months from January 1 to the observation time. If the result is a negative number, add 24 hours. As for the origin of the number 36.4 hours, it can be simply understood as a constant in the formula. You don't need to understand it."
[Unclear but powerful, unknown but powerful]
[I understand, but I don’t understand]
[Those who understand are awesome, the difference is how to judge the time (dog head)]
"It's actually very simple." Bifang said with a smile, "For example, on the night of June 1 of a certain year, at the Capital Planetarium, when longitude = 7:45, you see the Big Dipper clock hand is at 10, calculate what time it is in the capital now?"
As a result, Bifang waited and saw that a few of them had come up with the answer, so he didn't keep them in suspense and came out directly on the snow with a branch.
"This kind of thing can actually be done with mental arithmetic. Now we know that June 1st is five months away from January 1st, so M is 5. The capital time at this time is..."
A simple formula appeared on the snow, and the audience suddenly understood.
36.4 hours - 7.8 hours - 2 (10 + 5) hours = -1.4 hours.
-1.4+24=22.6 hours.
That is 10:36 p.m.
"Sometimes the Big Dipper can't be seen, but the Cassiopeia constellation, which is almost opposite to it, rises. We can also use it. The line connecting the Beta star in Cassiopeia and the North Star can also be regarded as the 'hour hand'. The division of the clock face and the direction of rotation of the clock are the same as the hour hand of the Big Dipper clock."
"When doing the calculation, you need to replace the constant 36.4 with 25.5."
"Of course, if you have a 'star indicator disk', you can almost avoid any calculations. Just pull the star disk and you will know the time immediately. This is more complicated. If you have time, you can make one when you return to the cabin."
"How's that? Easy, right?"
Bifang clapped his hands and said happily.
