Viking Sunstones - Double refraction of Calcite "Iceland spar" - Viking solstein

[gummiosten]

They have found the gaint crystal that they used.

[jackslasho1]

Trilobites eyes were made out of pure calcite (iceland spar), cool right

[sagewalker43]

"Sunstruck,", an article in The Economist, November 5, 2011, speaks of calcite and a stone found in an Elizabetha- era ship. I hope your experiments go well and that we see them on YouTube very soon.

-Sage

[astromicwm]

sorry, but i still don't understand how did they use it for locating sun!!!!, and what is the double reflection has to do with navigating??

[vikingskipdotcom]

@astromicwm The double refraction may be a dead end. The secret may be hidden in the polarizing effect itself.

[astromicwm]

@vikingskipdotcom so, how did they use the polarizing effect for navigating..

[vikingskipdotcom]

@astromicwm There is no absolute answer to that, as there are several possible ways to do it, even if some scientists recently claimed to have revealed the secret (by aligning a split reflection of a dot on the side of the crystal facing towards the sun, as far as i understand). Keep in mind that we never can be 100% certain if the Vikings navigated by crystals or if it is a legend from the saga. In any case, they relied heavily on combining several other methods for navigation as well.

[TheSediqullah]

That is ok ,but if you try to keep things in a normal light place and keep the camera as in a good position it will help us to see and distinguish things better,

[vikingskipdotcom]

@TheSediqullah Yes, you are right. However, I now have a new theory about how the sunstones could be used. I have some experiments to do before I make it public. ;o)

[vikingskipdotcom]

Now, I've got it!

Nå får jeg det til på et vis. Skal komme tilbake til det senere.

[kureishoMD]

Nice (: