Introducing WNDSN Calculators and Web Services
BERLIN, 2018-10-22 - 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 https://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:
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.
About WNDSN
Based in Berlin, WNDSN's Applied Science Lab develops and manufactures low-tech, high-utility tools and instruments with the objective of providing or enhancing "that, which can’t be improvised" in low-probability, high-impact scenarios where it is most needed, yet usually unavailable or non-permissive. The resulting products are measurement, calculation, and exploration instruments informed by the motto "Ex Mensura, Scientia" -- knowledge from measurement.
Mission
WNDSN [ˈwɪndsən] provides knowledge and tools for educating and training professionals and enthusiasts in the mastery of time and space.
WNDSN is devising instruments to measure values in the real world, calculate meaningful results from the acquired data, and process the insights as input for various problem solving tasks.
Products
WNDSN produces archival quality products that are designed with intent by combining techniques proven over centuries, bringing together the early history of science with cutting-edge, contemporary methods, resulting in iconic, timeless, high-utility designs in the spirit of the Renaissance.
WNDSN creates custom-built instruments and multi-purpose tools, metrology and illumination solutions with applications in urban reconnaissance, hostile theaters, disaster areas, and outdoor exploration.