How were the Vikings such remarkable mariners? Scientists have found their answer buried deep in a 16th century shipwreck.
Read More:
“Not just the stuff of legend: Famed Viking ‘sunstone’ did exist, believe scientists”
“For centuries, it has been a crystal of legend locked in the verses of Norse myth with little or no evidence that it was ever real.”
“Shipwreck may contain near-mythical Viking navigation aid”
“An oblong crystal found in the wreck of a 16th-century English warship is a sunstone, a near-mythical navigational aid said to have been used by Viking mariners, researchers said on Wednesday.”
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38 comments
2:18 For all y'alls enjoyment.
NO SWEDEN SWEDEN SWEDEN! VIKINGS ARE FROM SWEDEN!!!
LOL
I probably have viking ancestors… so… WORSHIP ME YOU LESSER MORTALS! WORSHIP ME!!!
my family comes from Harald Hårfagre, the guy that first gatherd Norway as one contry. that is fucking cool!
A serpent that keeps the world in check… WTF R U TALKING ABOUT ! Jörmungandr ! How does he keep the world in "check" ?
my school mascot is a viking
2:18 "god birds are creepy"
educated guess here, no research done so far, I'm guessing the property here is birefringence. Perhaps some experimentation with other stones that possess birefringence is in order to help determine if this can be done with other stones.
Umm, maybe you make an illustrated diagram to show how it works instead of just using your hands… Just saying.
Thanks for all the "Gee Whiz!" And for trying to make old news sound new. Prrrrp!
My family comes from vikings who went to Faroe Islands and then much much later came back to the mainland :3 it's kinda cool to know :3 (and guys… i bet they fucking used a Solsten)
All the auctions on ebay for Iceland Spar seem suspicious. How can one obtain such a stone?
Viking magic = science
i love science
the l o
I NEED A VIDEO EXAMPLE! COME ON GUYS!!!!
dude keep the beard, it rocks!
contrary to popular beliefs, our ancestors where not complete idiots.
My ancestors were vikings one of them discovered the bearing strait
swedish vikings executed people by cutting out their heart slowly when they were still alive.
first time visitor, brought here by today's @scienceporn tweet:
https://twitter.com/SciencePorn/status/497068849653886977
just say'n the obvious: our host should give a demonstration of sunstone dots, or the claim's not credible.
Seen as how you're all about science and stuff, don't you think your rotating earth in the logo should reflect the 23.5 deg tilt? Just saying.
Nice to know. But why not showing the sun-stone, of they found it?!
does it work on Gloom?
Holy shit it's so weird seeing him clean shaven
See, Vikings were awesome.
Cool. Now ill always have the sun in my pocket.
Proud to have viking ancestors! :D
This is very useful, Thanks Earth man For Reminding Me Of My Past.
Wow…this is just another drop in the already full bucket of evidence that the Earth is not a Globe. But the NASTards aren't gonna get it anyways..so whatever
In the right conditions, you can see these rings without help from a stone. (Obviously can tell where north is)
This needs more view
actually your partially right..
there is a wood halfdisc that is used along with it.
with that they could use it like a sekstant . http://prntscr.com/jd7xjf the oldschool navigation at sea.
then they could use the disk sideways to make course adjustments and stay in a straight line..
its basically just a sekstant with night vision..
Your presentation would have been effective with more illustration to accompany your description.
Norse sagas – Slip of the tongue? We refer to it as The Icelandic Sagas as it was written by Icelanders in Iceland, even though some of them were of Norwegian descent.
wtf i have 2 of them and they are huge
Viking did alot great thing than christianity at medieval age
The minerals Viking used was not island spar it was "iolite" called in gemology. It has ability of pleochroism changing color looking at it from different direction due this ability of pleochroism they were able to find out the direction of sun.