On Wednesday, September 12, 2018 at 2:27:31 AM UTC-6, Gerald Kelleher wrote:

Newton's use of the Equation of Time was a muddying influence ,

If I am going to study, say, how long it takes a teaspoon of salt to dissolve in
a glass of water, what sort of time should I use:

that provided by a pendulum clock,

or that provided by a sundial?

Of course, you can take the _average_ of the time provided by the sundial -
that's what the pendulum clock gives you. But before it's averaged, the rate of
time from a sundial isn't constant, because of the Equation of Time.

That seems to be a clear factual distinction, not muddying or confusing matters
at all.

John Savard