Talk:South Pointing Chariot

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Wouldn't such a vehicle need a flat surface to ensure the mechanism always points in on direction? And I don't mean changing the vertical direction of pointing. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.161.27.195 (talk • contribs)

Yes, the South Pointing Chariot only works on flat surfaces. More specifically, it doesn't work on a sphere :-) Shinobu 21:48, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Contents 1 Proof? 2 Steering 3 Copy vio? 4 dubious nautical use claim 5 dubious accuracy

[edit] Proof?

@Two scholars prove before the court that such a vehicle is impossible:

Is this about the curved-surface thing, or did they miss the point and submit a flat-surface-based proof-with-a-hole-in-it? Shinobu 00:04, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Steering

Note: This type of device can be used to create a "skid-steer" type of vehicle being Totally mechanically driven.

[edit] Copy vio?

The table seems have been cribbed from [1]. --IanOsgood 02:01, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

From looking at the disclaimer here it's most likely the other way around. Garion96 (talk) 11:24, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

I just updated the thread with information about Ma Jun from Joseph Needham's Science and Civilization in China.

--PericlesofAthens 05:48, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] dubious nautical use claim

well, this device just won't work on ships. if somebody historically significant really claimed it is actually used in that capacity, well we should state he did claim use, cite&verify and state it is actually impossible.--Calm 12:26, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Dk just took all the historical information from Ma's article and placed it in the South Pointing Chariot article. The passage at the tail end of the Song Shu explains this somewhat, and I will refer to Needham again to get a clearer picture of this.--PericlesofAthens 12:49, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] dubious accuracy

Because of the difficulty of making the two wheels of very precisely the same circumference, and perhaps more because of the random bumps on even very flat plains, it seems that this vehicle couldn't be at all reliable even at a distance of the order of 10 km. - Tuomas —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.59.12.109 (talk) 21:43, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

Crafting the wheels with the precise circumference was not a problem; I fail to see how bumps in the road affect the device. What does 10 km have to do with anything? I don't think you understand the pointing chariot very well and what it is used for. Furthermore, are you gaining this idea from a scholar? If not, Wikipedia does not endorse original research.--Pericles of Athens^Talk 03:38, 3 March 2008 (UTC)