A sunshine recorder is a device that records the amount of sunshine at a given location. The results provide information about the weather and climate of a geographical area. This information is useful in meteorology, science, agriculture, tourism, and other fields.
There are two basic types of sunshine recorders. One type uses the sun itself as a times scale for the sunshine readings. The other type uses some form of clock for the time scale.
Older recorders required a human observer to interpret the results; recorded results might differ among observers. Modern sunshine recorders use electronics and computers for precise data that do not depend on a human interpreter. Newer recorders can also measure the global and diffuse radiation.
Famous quotes containing the word sunshine:
“Hemingway is great in that alone of living writers he has saturated his work with the memory of physical pleasure, with sunshine and salt water, with food, wine and making love and the remorse which is the shadow of that sun.”
—Cyril Connolly (1903–1974)