Just realized those supposed 'Viking sunstone' finds actually have solid science behind them

I was skeptical when a buddy at the Denver museum showed me the calcite crystal that can detect polarized light from the sun through clouds. But then I tested one myself with a cloudy sky and it pinpointed the sun's position within 5 degrees. Has anyone else messed around with one of these navigation crystals?

2 comments

2 Comments

wells.karen1mo ago

Oh man, I've been there too. I was at a friend's house and he had one of those calcite crystals, and I thought it was just another Viking myth until I actually tried it on a partly cloudy afternoon. It's wild how something that looks like a rock can actually pick up the sun's position through heavy clouds, makes you wonder what other ancient tech we've been dismissing.

the_alice1mo ago

And it's funny you mention that because I had a friend who swore by using a lodestone for navigation on hikes, like those old compasses that don't even point north right anymore. We were lost for three hours in the woods because apparently the iron in the ground was throwing it off, but he still swears by it. I mean, maybe we're just way too quick to write off stuff our ancestors figured out through trial and error.