05-15-2025, 03:49 PM
[I had to check for alternatives to finding north (south)]
I like the simplicity of your approach with the sun. “Technical” solutions could be using GPS (the heading while moving is relative to “True North”, however, some speed is required for sufficient accuracy). Smartphones could also give you “True North”, this might utilise declination maps, though, so it's likely not something wanted.
At the moment, the angle “Direct α” in the “attitude” experiment, https://phyphox.org/wiki/index.php/Attitude_sensor, is relative to magnetic North. We are currently checking if we could provide the means in phyphox to obtain “True North” instead.
I agree that it looks doable and it looks like a nice network/crowd experiment. You certainly need to give some instructions on where –or where not– to measure the magnetic field. Typical school and university tables, for instance, have an iron construction underneath the table top that puts the magnetometer off. There is also the internal calibration of the raw data magnetometer, so overall accuracy is something that should be considered…
I'll check in our next group meeting what others think about your idea.
I like the simplicity of your approach with the sun. “Technical” solutions could be using GPS (the heading while moving is relative to “True North”, however, some speed is required for sufficient accuracy). Smartphones could also give you “True North”, this might utilise declination maps, though, so it's likely not something wanted.
At the moment, the angle “Direct α” in the “attitude” experiment, https://phyphox.org/wiki/index.php/Attitude_sensor, is relative to magnetic North. We are currently checking if we could provide the means in phyphox to obtain “True North” instead.
I agree that it looks doable and it looks like a nice network/crowd experiment. You certainly need to give some instructions on where –or where not– to measure the magnetic field. Typical school and university tables, for instance, have an iron construction underneath the table top that puts the magnetometer off. There is also the internal calibration of the raw data magnetometer, so overall accuracy is something that should be considered…
I'll check in our next group meeting what others think about your idea.