The evolution of wall clocks and other timepieces

No Comments

The significance of measuring time and adjusting one’s day to suit this measurement dates back to approximately 6,000 years ago. Back then, time pieces were simply sundial clocks, or sun clocks. Sundials were pretty simple devices that could tell the time based on the position of the sun and the shadow it cast on the ground. An obvious limitation of this type of clock was that it could only be used in daylight. The first sundials were said to have been built in Egypt, and we nowadays refer to these clocks as Obelisks; Tall upright standing pillars that case a long shadow.
Around 1400 B.C. the concept of the clock leapt forward when water clocks were invented in Egypt. This type of clock was made of two containers of water, one higher than the other. A tube connected the containers and would allow water to travel from the higher container to the lower container, which both had marks showing the water level and indicated the time. The Greeks were particularly keen on water clocks and upgraded and redesigned the concept several times. Besides being able to tell the time at night as well as during the day, water clocks were more accurate than sundials as well.
The first real wall clock was powered by a spring mechanism and was invented in Germany around 1510. Although the mechanism was revolutionary, the first of such wall clocks were not very accurate in telling time. A major advancement was the pendulum wall clock however, which was developed by Christiaan Huygens in 1656. The mechanism depends on the swinging motion of the pendulum arm, which drives several gear wheels and makes the hour and minute hands turn. Although, very accurate the only problem with pendulum clocks was that they had to be restarted once the pendulum would run out of momentum. Early battery power in the 19th century made such interventions a thing of the past, however.
In 1920, the Quartz crystal clock was invented, a mechanism on which most present day wall clocks are based. Quartz crystal vibrates or oscillates at a very constant frequency or rate when a low voltage and pressure are applied to it. The oscillation moves the clock’s hands very precisely and that proved to be the end of the pendulum type clock, which had probably driven everyone completely bonkers with its hypnotic motion after all that time. Quartz-driven wall clocks have become the time pieces we now depend on in our everyday lives.

The significance of measuring time and adjusting one’s day to suit this measurement dates back to approximately 6,000 years ago. Back then, timepieces were simply sundial clocks, or sun clocks. Sundials were pretty simple devices that could tell the time based on the position of the sun and the shadow it cast on the ground. An obvious limitation of this type of clock was that it could only be used in daylight. The first sundials were said to have been built in Egypt, and we nowadays refer to these clocks as Obelisks; Tall upright standing pillars that case a long shadow.

A pendulum driven, antique wall clockAround 1400 B.C. the concept of the clock leapt forward when water clocks were invented in Egypt. This type of clock was made of two containers of water, one higher than the other. A tube connected the containers and would allow water to travel from the higher container to the lower container, which both had marks showing the water level and indicated the time. The Greeks were particularly keen on water clocks and upgraded and redesigned the concept several times. Besides being able to tell the time at night as well as during the day, water clocks were more accurate than sundials as well.

The first real wall clock was powered by a spring mechanism and was invented in Germany around 1510. Although the mechanism was revolutionary, the first of such wall clocks were not very accurate in telling time. A major advancement was the pendulum wall clock however, which was developed by Christiaan Huygens in 1656. The mechanism depends on the swinging motion of the pendulum arm, which drives several gear wheels and makes the hour and minute hands turn. Although, very accurate the only problem with pendulum clocks was that they had to be restarted once the pendulum would run out of momentum. Early battery power in the 19th century made such interventions a thing of the past, however.

In 1920, the Quartz crystal clock was invented, a mechanism on which most present day wall clocks are based. Quartz crystal vibrates or oscillates at a very constant frequency or rate when a low voltage and pressure are applied to it. The oscillation moves the clock’s hands very precisely and that proved to be the end of the pendulum type clock, which had probably driven everyone completely bonkers with its hypnotic motion after all that time. Quartz-driven wall clocks have become the time pieces we now depend on in our everyday lives.

Comments

Leave a Reply