The Sewerage of Sea Coast Towns

by Henry Charles Adams

"The angles in the same segment of a circle are equal to one another."

[Illustration: Fig. 40.—Section and Plan of Prismatic
Compass.]

Having regard to this last proposition (Euclid III., 21), it will be observed that in the case of Fig. 37 it would not have been possible to locate the point C by reading the angle A C B alone, as such point might be amywhere on the circumference of a circle of which A B was the chord. The usual and more accurate method of determining the position of a floating object from the object, itself, or from a boat alongside, is by taking angles with a sextant, or box-sextant, between three fixed points on shore in two operations. Let A B C, Fig. 41, be the three fixed points on shore, the positions of which are measured and recorded upon an ordnance map, or checked if they are already there. Let D be the floating object, the position of which is required to be located, and let the observed angles from the object be A D B 30° and B D C 45°. Then on the map join A B and B C, from A and B set off angles = 90 - 30 = 60°, and they will intersect at point E, which will be the centre of a circle, which must be drawn, with radius E A. The circle will pass through A B, and the point D will be somewhere on its circumference. Then from B and C set off angles = 90-45 = 45°, which will intersect at point F, which will be the centre of a circle of radius F B, which will pass through points B C, and point D will be somewhere on the circumference of this circle also; therefore the intersection of the two circles at D fixes that point on the map. It will be observed that the three interior angles in the triangle A B E are together equal to two right angles (Euclid I. 32), therefore the angle A E B = 180 - 2 x (90 - 30) = 600, so that the angle A E B is double the angle A D B (Euclid III., 20), and that as the angles subtending a given chord from any point of the circumference are equal (Euclid III, 21), the point that is common to the two circumferences is the required point. When point D is inked in, the construction lines are rubbed out ready for plotting the observations from the next position. When the floating point is out of range of A, a new fixed point will be required on shore beyond C, so that B, C, and the new point will be used together. Another approximate method which may sometimes be employed is to take a point on a piece of tracing paper and draw from it three lines of unlimited length, which shall form the two observed angles. If, now, this piece of paper is moved about on top of the ordnance map until each of the three lines passes through the corresponding fixed points on shore, then the point from which the lines radiate will represent the position of the boat.

[Illustration: Fig. 41. Geometrical Diagram for Locating
Observation Point Afloat.]

The general appearance of a box-sextant is as shown in Fig. 42, and an enlarged diagrammatic plan of it is shown in Fig. 43. It is about 3 in in diameter, and is made with or without the telescope; it is used for measuring approximately the angle between any two lines by observing poles at their extremities from the point of intersection. In Fig. 43, A is the sight- hole, B is a fixed mirror having one-half silvered and the other half plain; C is a mirror attached to the same pivot as the vernier arm D. The side of the case is open to admit rays of light from the observed objects. In making an observation of the angle formed by lines to two poles, one pole would be seen through the clear part of mirror B, and at the same time rays of light from the other pole would fall on to mirror C, which should be moved until the pole is reflected on the silvered part of mirror B, exactly in line, vertically, with the pole seen by direct vision, then the angle between the two poles would be indicated on the vernier. Take the case of a single pole, then the angle indicated should be zero, but whether it would actually be so depends upon circumstances which may be explained as follows: Suppose the pole to be fixed at E, which is extremely close, it will be found that the arrow on the vernier arm falls short of the zero of the scale owing to what may be called the width of the base line of the instrument. If the pole is placed farther off, as at F, the rays of light from the pole will take the course of the stroke-and-dot line, and the vernier arm will require to be shifted nearer the zero of the scale. After a distance of two chains between the pole and sextant is reached, the rays of light from the pole to B and C are so nearly parallel that the error is under one minute, and the instrument can be used under such conditions without difficulty occurring by reason of error. To adjust the box-sextant the smoked glass slide should be drawn over the eyepiece, and then, if the sun is sighted, it should appear as a perfect sphere when the vernier is at zero, in whatever position the sextant may be held. When reading the angle formed by the lines from two stations, the nearer station should be sighted through the plain glass, which may necessitate holding the instrument upside down. When the angle to be read between two stations exceeds 90°, an intermediate station should be fixed, and the angle taken in two parts, as in viewing large angles the mirror C is turned round to such an extent that its own reflection, and that of the image upon it, is viewed almost edgeways in the mirror B.

[Illustration: Fig. 42.—Box-Sextant.]

It should be noted that the box-sextant only reads angles in the plane of the instrument, so that if one object sighted is lower than the other, the angle read will be the direct angle between them, and not the horizontal angle, as given by a theodolite.

The same principles may be adopted for locating the position of an object in the water when the observations have to be taken at some distance from it. To illustrate this, use may be made of an examination question in hydrographical surveying given at the Royal Naval College, Incidentally, it shows one method of recording the observations. The question was as follows:—

[Illustration: Fig. 43.—Diagram Showing Principle of Box-
Sextant]

"From Coastguard, Mound bore N. 77° W. (true) 0.45 of a mile, and Mill bore, N. 88° E, 0.56 of a mile, the following stations were taken to fix a shoal on which the sea breaks too heavily to risk the boat near:—