Before the beginning of the Middle Ages, scientific progress in the world was quite significant. As far as it was available to ancient people, they sought to know the world, and only the fall of the Roman Empire put an end to this, plunging humanity into long centuries of ignorance. One of the inherently unique devices was the armillary sphere. She was able to accurately show the movement of celestial bodies. Even then there was no doubt that the Earth was round, although in the future most of the knowledge was lost.
Official value
In Latin, armilla means "ring" or "bracelet". This name came from the design features of the armillary sphere. The very first models, theoretically invented by the geometer of Ancient Greece Eratosthenes in the 3rd century BC, were designed to determine the coordinates of celestial bodies. Later versions were used as a teaching aid to visualize the positions of celestial bodies. With this device, you could:
- Determine horizontal, ecliptic and equatorial coordinates.
- Calculate the frequency of lunar eclipses and determine the motion of our satellite.
- Calculate the movement of the planets of the solar system and our star.
- Demonstrate the features of the movement of the Moon and the Sun at different latitudes.
- Show the movement of the constellations and determine where they will set or rise.
In fact, for that time this is a unique device that has no analogues. Even now, it has not lost its relevance, despite the presence of a huge number of modern devices capable of showing all the same things much more clearly and accurately. True, it is used mainly as a museum piece, decor item or symbol.
Design
Armillary sphere includes several parts. It is based on a movable element designed to depict the celestial sphere and its main circles. Around it are special rotating coasters that display the meridian and the circle of the horizon. The general sphere is formed with the help of three circles, as well as celestial poles.
There is another large circle, which is made in the form of a fairly wide ring. It is designed to depict the ecliptic and the signs of the zodiac applied to it. Among other things, two more small circles are also 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 similar, the armillary sphere, the photo of which is presented below, was used until the 20th century AD. Only then did more accurate instruments appear that could show everything the same, but better and more clearly. SoThus, this device has served a person for more than 2 thousand years.
Dwemer Armillary Sphere
The creators of Skyrim took this device as a model and based on it developed a unique and very difficult task that causes difficulties for a huge number of gamers. Since it is very difficult to set up a Dwemer armillary sphere, we will tell you the main secrets of the quest.
As part of the passage of the game, the user will need to place the crystal in this device in a certain way, otherwise the Synod magician will not give further instructions. The first thing to do is take a look. There will be two books on the table, allowing you to learn the spells "Flame" and "Frostbite". They're critical to setting up the orb, and if you've misplaced these tomes, you'll have to look for opportunities to learn magic on your own. True, by this point, most players already know such spells.
They must be applied to an armillary sphere, causing the beam to rise or fall. Each of the spells may need to be used multiple 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 taken into account that if the beam is already set correctly, then the key will no longer be available, which is somewhatmakes it easy.
Decision problems
As part of the task, the following difficulties may arise:
- It's night outside. This game involves a change in the time of day, and it is quite natural that there will be no sun rays. Will have to wait until morning.
- Incorrect beam alignment. It may seem that they are set correctly, but when the rings move, it turns out that streams of light pass by. In such a situation, you still have to manipulate with spells.
Once the full alignment is complete and all the beams are exactly where they should be, a map of the continent will form on one of the walls, thanks to which Parat will give further instructions. If you do everything carefully and carefully, then in fact there is nothing too complicated here, however, most players do not read descriptions and explanations, as a result of which they sometimes find themselves in such situations. Such is Skyrim, and the Dwemer armillary sphere is an example of this. By studying tasks in detail, you can avoid similar situations.
Interesting facts
The armillary sphere is a unique and extremely interesting device in itself. Unfortunately, the history of its appearance and many other features related to it are still unknown. One can only guess how ancient scientists, not having the capabilities that we have now, were able to calculate all the parameters and create such a device.
In the modern worldthe armillary sphere remained only as a symbol. It is she who is the main element of the coat of arms of Portugal. In addition, the armillary sphere is a symbol of St. Petersburg. Located at the very top of the Kunstkamera tower.
Results
In ancient times there were many very interesting devices that are difficult to even imagine for modern residents. And all of them are quite true, at least from the point of view of our science. It turns out that a long time ago humanity has already developed quite significantly, 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 they do now.
