Mythical Viking Sunstones Could Have Worked

Maritime Executive ^

[ameribbean expat]

Physicists from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary have determined that the sunstones claimed to be used by Vikings to navigate on foggy and cloudy days could provide accurate results.

Vikings living between 900 and 1200AD did not have magnetic compasses, and their ability to navigate was attributed in part to the use of calcite, cordierite or tourmaline crystals which functioned as linear polarizers to help them determine geographic north. The crystals can split sunlight into two beams, and when the crystal is turned, splitting the two beams at the same brightness, a navigator could see the polarized rings around the sun, effectively showing its placement in the sky.

The scientists tested the method by computer simulation by following the sailing routes of 1,000 Viking voyages starting from Hernam (nowadays the Norwegian Bergen) along the 60°21′55″ N latitude, which was the main sailing route of the Vikings to their settlement Hvarf in south Greenland. From Bergen to Greenland, the Viking sailors had to accurately keep the western direction parallel to the 60°21′55″ N latitude.

The study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, states that sunstones are surprisingly successful even under cloudy conditions - achieving success rates of between 92.2 and 100 percent during spring equinox and summer solstice if a navigator checked the sailing direction every three hours.

[dfwgator]

Then why haven’t they won a Super Bowl?

[Hieronymus]

No games played between spring equinox and summer solstice.

[dfwgator]

And they’ve never made it back to the Super Bowl since moving indoors.

[Hieronymus]

Longboats don’t do well without the wind.

That fourth quarter was one of the most agonizing bits of football I have ever listened to. Don’t know why I bothered to listen to the end.

[OldGoatCPO]

Easier for a Viking to find Greenland with a piece of crystal at twilight then finding the end zone in December:)

[goldstategop]

Josh Gates demonstrated how well Viking sunstones work as a navigation aid on an episode of “Expedition Unknown.”

The Vikings invented the ultimate maritime compass.

[Bob434]

josh gates did a show on the sunstone- found it to be fairly accurate as well

[Bob434]

woops- didn’t read down through the comments- see someone already mentioned it lol

[Federal46]

I watched that program as well. He definitely proved that the sunstones worked.

[Beowulf9]

Whatever happened to that guy who had the cool Viking icon? I’d expect him to show up here.

[ameribbean expat]

They’re playing inside the crystal instead of using it for navigation.

[Fedora]

Ping.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Fedora! Will ping from home.

https://www.freerepublic.com/tag/sunstones/index

[SunkenCiv]

https://phys.org/news/2018-04-simulations-viking-sunstone-accurate.html

[snoringbear]

“The Vikings invented the ultimate maritime compass.”

If they were so smart why is it they never figured out how to tack?

[2banana]

OK - let me get this straight.

Scientist think the Vikings used these stones to navigate on foggy and cloudy days.

And the stones contain crystals that REQUIRE SUNLIGHT to work.

+++++++

“Vikings to navigate on foggy and cloudy days could provide accurate results.

Vikings living between 900 and 1200AD did not have magnetic compasses, and their ability to navigate was attributed in part to the use of calcite, cordierite or tourmaline crystals which functioned as linear polarizers to help them determine geographic north. The crystals can split sunlight into two beams, and when the crystal is turned, splitting the two beams at the same brightness, a navigator could see the polarized rings around the sun, effectively showing its placement in the sky.”

[Manly Warrior]

Foggy days include daylight. The sun is up somewhere over your horizon, therefore the sunstone can form the two beams and the halo when turned- when the halo is seen at its brightest, even if dull(er) compared to the effect in full sunlight, that is the direction of the sun.

[Red Badger]

The crystals collect the diffuse light coming thru the clouds or fog and re-concentrate it into a single fuzzy point...............

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks again Fedora. And just once I'd like to enter a topic where everyone has actually read the excerpt, or better yet the entire article, before running off at the keys with useless, irrelevant, boilerplate (BCE vs BC), or just plain ignorant remarks.

• Crystals 'helped Viking sailors' (For Viking fans....and others, of course).
• How Vikings May Have Navigated On Cloudy Days (More)
• Did Vikings navigate by polarized light?
• Icelandic rocks could have steered Vikings
• Researchers: We may have found a fabled sunstone (Update)
• Researchers suggest Vikings used crystals with sun compass to steer at night
• Incised stone sun discs found during Danish island excavations

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