What is the armillary sphere?

Before the Middle Ages, scientific progress in the worldwas quite significant. As far as it was accessible to the ancient people, they sought to know the world, and only the fall of the Roman Empire put an end to this, plunging mankind into long centuries of ignorance. One of the devices that were unique in their nature was the armillary sphere. She was able to accurately show the motion of heavenly bodies. Even then, there was no doubt that the Earth was round, although in the future much of the knowledge was lost.

Official meaning

In Latin, armilla means"ring" or "bracelet". This name was due to the structural features of the armillary sphere. The very first models, theoretically invented by the geometry of Ancient Greece by Eratosthenes in the 3rd century BC, were designed to determine the coordinates of the heavenly bodies. Later versions were used as a training tool to visualize the positions of celestial bodies. With the help of this device it was possible:

• Determine the horizontal, ecliptic and equatorial coordinates.
• Calculate the frequency of lunar eclipses and determine the motion of our satellite.
• Counting the movement of the planets of the solar system and our star.
• Demonstrate the features of the motion of the Moon and the Sun in different latitudes.
• Show the movement of the constellations and determine where their sunset or sunrise will be.

In fact, for that time this uniquea device that does not have any analogues. Even now, it has not lost its relevance, despite the presence of a huge number of modern instruments capable of showing all the same things much more clearly and accurately. True, it is used mainly as a museum exhibit, a decorative item or a symbol.

Design

Armillary sphere includes severalparts. The basis is a movable element, designed to represent the celestial sphere and its main circles. Around it there are special rotating supports that display the meridian and the circle of the horizon. The general sphere is formed with the help of three circles, as well as the celestial poles.

There is another big circle thatis made in the form of a fairly wide ring. He is called to depict the ecliptic and the signs of the zodiac on it. Among other things, two more smaller circles are used, showing the southern and northern tropics. It is quite difficult to understand all this, but since there are no other options to embody something like this, the armillary sphere, the photo of which is presented below, was used up to the 20th century of our era. Only then did more precise instruments appear capable of showing all the same, but more qualitatively and more clearly. Thus, this device has served a person more than 2 thousand years.

Dwemer armillary sphere

The creators of the game Skyrim took as a model thisadaptation and on its basis have developed a unique and very complex task, which causes difficulties for a huge number of gamers. Since it is very difficult to set up a Dwemer armillary sphere, we will tell the main secrets of the quest.

As part of the game to the userit will be necessary to place the crystal in a certain way in this device, otherwise the magician of the Synod will not give further instructions. The first thing you need to look around. On the table will be two books, allowing you to learn the spells "Flame" and "Frostbite." They are critical to setting up the scope, and if you've tossed these volumes somewhere, you'll have to look for the opportunity to learn the magic yourself. However, by this time most players already know such spells already.

They must be used on the armillary sphere, inas a result, the beam will rise or fall. Each of the spells may need to be used several times. The main task is to make sure that all the rays point to the rings with lenses located in the upper part of the room.

But that's not all. Once this task is completed, it is necessary to rotate the rings, ensuring that each of the rays passes strictly through a certain lens. This is done using the buttons on the top of the stairs. It should be borne in mind that if the beam is already set correctly, then the larger key will not be available, which somewhat simplifies the task.

Solving problems

As part of the assignment, the following difficulties may arise:

• It's night in the yard. This game involves changing the time of day, and it is only natural that there will be no sun rays. Have to wait until morning.
• Wrong beam alignment. It may seem that they are exhibited correctly, but when the rings move, it turns out that the streams of light are passing by. In this situation, you still have to manipulate with spells.

Once the complete setup is complete and all the beamsare exactly where they should, on one of the walls a map of the continent will form, thanks to which Parat will give further instructions. If you do everything carefully and accurately, then in fact, nothing too complicated is not here, but most players do not read descriptions and explanations, which sometimes results in similar situations. This is the Skyrim, and the Dwemer armillary sphere is an example of this. Studying tasks in detail, you can avoid similar situations.

Interesting Facts

Armillary sphere is in itself unique andextremely interesting device. To the great regret, the history of his appearance and many other features adjacent to him have so far remained unknown. One can only guess how the scientists of antiquity, not having the opportunities that we have now, were able to calculate all the parameters and create a similar adaptation.

In the modern world, the armillary sphere has remainedonly as a symbol. It is the main element of the emblem of Portugal. In addition, the armillary sphere is a symbol of St. Petersburg. Located at the very top of the Kunstkamera tower.

Outcomes

In antiquity there were a lot of very interesting devices,which is difficult even to present to modern residents. And they are all quite right, at least from the point of view of our science. It turns out that for a long time humanity has already developed very much, and if it were not for the harsh times of the Middle Ages, it is quite possible that modern technologies would have advanced much further than it is now.