In our ongoing effort to provide educational materials and various ways of accessing our tools and techniques, we have added another calculator, an elevation computer accompanying our printed manual as an exercise tool, to get a 'third opinion', and to demonstrate underlying principles.
Our website tycho.wndsn.com currently offers two calculators, companion tools to Wndsn Quadrant Telemeters: Low tech, high utility graphical distance computers from the Wndsn applied science lab.
The first app is a range calculator; taking input from angular size in degrees, mil, or moa, and returning the respective distance to a given object of known dimension(s); depth of a well, height of building, etc.
The second app is an elevation calculator, taking as input two angles; the lower and upper bounds of an object of known size in order to measure the altitude difference relative to a shared base, e.g. the distance to a lighthouse of known height, measured from a skyscraper of unknown height, or the altitude of a structure on a mountain, measured from a valley, or the distance and altitude of an airplane of known size.
Both calculators are 'RESTful,' which means that one can bookmark calculations and their results as well as determine specific parameters to receive the results in JSON, XML, or as CSV in order to subsequently use the data in processing applications.
The calculators are actively being developed with more features to come and are self-documented and available at:
tycho.wndsn.com
The data processed may come from diverse sources, such as hairline graticules, surveying tools, historic astrolabe-like instruments, or our very own Quadrant Telemeters.
We chose the name Tycho for our suite of calculators, after Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, known for his comprehensive astronomical and planetary observations. Tycho's view of science was driven by his passion for accurate observations, and the quest for improved instruments of measurement drove his life's work. He was the last of the major naked-eye astronomers, working without telescopes for his observations, making Tycho a suitable name giver to process our equally naked-eye data.
Wndsn's Applied Science Lab, based in Berlin, develops and manufactures that which can't be improvised; measurement, navigation, and surveying instruments informed by the motto "Ex Mensura, Scientia" - knowledge from measurement.
Wndsn produces archival quality products that are designed with intent by combining techniques proven over centuries; arcane science meets cutting edge contemporary methods, resulting in iconic, timeless, high-utility designs.
In addition to custom-built instruments and tools, metrology & illumination solutions, Wndsn creates expedition mementos and morale patches to celebrate cross-disciplinary exploration in the spirit of the Renaissance. Wndsn morale patches are acutely designed - no line is left to randomness, no element is mere filler. They serve as infographics, how-tos for the Wndsn tools, magic sigils, as well as functional markers.
store.wndsn.com/collections/navigation-tools
Press Release: Introducing Wndsn Calculators and Web Services
Tags: Press
