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Artificial horizon   /ˌɑrtəfˈɪʃəl hərˈaɪzən/   Listen
noun
Horizon  n.  
1.
The line which bounds that part of the earth's surface visible to a spectator from a given point; the apparent junction of the earth and sky. "And when the morning sun shall raise his car Above the border of this horizon." "All the horizon round Invested with bright rays."
2.
(Astron.)
(a)
A plane passing through the eye of the spectator and at right angles to the vertical at a given place; a plane tangent to the earth's surface at that place; called distinctively the sensible horizon.
(b)
A plane parallel to the sensible horizon of a place, and passing through the earth's center; called also rational horizon or celestial horizon.
(c)
(Naut.) The unbroken line separating sky and water, as seen by an eye at a given elevation, no land being visible.
3.
(Geol.) The epoch or time during which a deposit was made. "The strata all over the earth, which were formed at the same time, are said to belong to the same geological horizon."
4.
(Painting) The chief horizontal line in a picture of any sort, which determines in the picture the height of the eye of the spectator; in an extended landscape, the representation of the natural horizon corresponds with this line.
5.
The limit of a person's range of perception, capabilities, or experience; as, children raised in the inner city have limited horizons.
6.
(fig.) A boundary point or line, or a time point, beyond which new knowledge or experiences may be found; as, more powerful computers are just over the horizon.
Apparent horizon. See under Apparent.
Artificial horizon, a level mirror, as the surface of mercury in a shallow vessel, or a plane reflector adjusted to the true level artificially; used chiefly with the sextant for observing the double altitude of a celestial body.
Celestial horizon. (Astron.) See def. 2, above.
Dip of the horizon (Astron.), the vertical angle between the sensible horizon and a line to the visible horizon, the latter always being below the former.
Rational horizon, and Sensible horizon. (Astron.) See def. 2, above.
Visible horizon. See definitions 1 and 2, above.


adjective
Artificial  adj.  
1.
Made or contrived by art; produced or modified by human skill and labor, in opposition to natural; as, artificial heat or light, gems, salts, minerals, fountains, flowers. "Artificial strife Lives in these touches, livelier than life."
2.
Feigned; fictitious; assumed; affected; not genuine. "Artificial tears."
3.
Artful; cunning; crafty. (Obs.)
4.
Cultivated; not indigenous; not of spontaneous growth; as, artificial grasses.
Artificial arguments (Rhet.), arguments invented by the speaker, in distinction from laws, authorities, and the like, which are called inartificial arguments or proofs.
Artificial classification (Science), an arrangement based on superficial characters, and not expressing the true natural relations species; as, "the artificial system" in botany, which is the same as the Linnaean system.
Artificial horizon. See under Horizon.
Artificial light, any light other than that which proceeds from the heavenly bodies.
Artificial lines, lines on a sector or scale, so contrived as to represent the logarithmic sines and tangents, which, by the help of the line of numbers, solve, with tolerable exactness, questions in trigonometry, navigation, etc.
Artificial numbers, logarithms.
Artificial person (Law). See under Person.
Artificial sines, Artificial tangents, etc., the same as logarithms of the natural sines, tangents, etc.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Artificial horizon" Quotes from Famous Books



... angles by reflexion.—an ordinary artificial horizon is useless for very low angles. They can be measured to within two or three minutes, by means of a vertical point of reference obtained in the following manner:—Tie two pieces of thread, crossing each other at two feet above the ground, put the vessel ...
— The Art of Travel - Shifts and Contrivances Available in Wild Countries • Francis Galton
... a revolver, a hunting knife, and some fishing tackle; one three and a quarter by four and a quarter folding pocket kodak, one panorama kodak, a sextant and artificial horizon, a barometer, a thermometer. I wore a short skirt over knickerbockers, a short sweater, and a belt to which were attached my cartridge pouch, revolver, and hunting knife. My hat was a rather narrow brimmed soft felt. I had one pair of heavy leather moccasins reaching almost to my knees, ...
— A Woman's Way Through Unknown Labrador • Mina Benson Hubbard (Mrs. Leonidas Hubbard, Junior)
... island which we saw at a distance last year, and then called the Lump, from its shape. As a set of bearings from this island was desirable, the vessel was anchored abreast of it at about a mile and a half from the shore; having landed upon it in time to observe the sun's meridional altitude in the artificial horizon, we ascended its summit and obtained the desired bearings; we also discovered Freycinet's Island on the horizon, bearing North 13 degrees 42 minutes West; this island was distinguished easily by its form, which is that of an inverted basin. A large island ...
— Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2] • Phillip Parker King
... on his fingers. "Wing landing lights, navigation lights, cockpit instrument light. And if we were supposed to fly in anything but clear weather, we'd need a bank and turn indicator and an artificial horizon. But even then I'd be doubtful. I've never had instrument training. I wouldn't dare take the Cub out unless it was a clear, moonlit night, so I'd have a ...
— Smugglers' Reef • John Blaine
... the night to determine the latitude of the place by the passage of Fomalhaut over the meridian; but the observation was lost, owing to the time I employed in taking the level of the artificial horizon. It was midnight, and I was benumbed with cold, as were also our guides: yet the thermometer kept at 19.7 degrees. At Cumana I have never seen it sink below 21 degrees; but then the house in which we dwelt on the Imposible was 258 toises above the level of the sea. At the Casa de la Polvora ...
— Equinoctial Regions of America • Alexander von Humboldt


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