Quality Clocks

There is a renewed interest in sun dials.  Part of the interest is a scientific desire to refine the art and technology of the ancient time pieces.  The other interest is a nostalgic desire to reflect back to a simpler quieter time.

Prehistoric man observed that he could measure time during the day by the length and direction the shadow cast by various objects.  This led to the use of a stick stuck in the ground in a vertical position.  The seasons of the year could also be indicated by the position of the shadow.

The sundial was developed independently by different civilizations around the world.  The Egyptians were the first Western civilization who developed the sun dial.  It was a “l” shaped device with marks for the hours.  The Greeks and Romans continued the development of sun dials.  They developed different forms including horizontal, vertical (wall clock), spherical, cylindrical, and portable sundials.

The art and science of sundials reached their peak in 1500 to 1800.  Sundials were used in both private homes and public places.  Sundials were relied on for business and social appointments so being a few minutes late was not a big problem.

After 1800 the sundial lost popularity due to the availability of reasonably accurate clocks and watches. 

The renewed interest started in the 1970”s.  The British Sundial Society was formed in 1989, and the United States Sundial Society was formed in 1994.

All clocks require two basic elements.

1.  A constant repetitive process or action used to measure equal increments of time.  Early examples of such process were the sun’s movement across the sky, candles with consistent burn rate, oil lamps, water reservoirs consistent out flow rates, and sand glasses.  Modern clocks use a balance wheel, pendulum, vibrating quartz crystal, or electromagnetic waves generated by the workings of the atom to measure the passage of time.

2. The second component of the clock is a method to display the action of the process or action.  The early clocks used various markings to display the passage of time.  The sun clock used a shadow cast on variously shaped and marked surfaces (sundial).  Candles were marked in segments to indicate the time it had burned.  The water clocks and lamps used marked reservoirs to indicate the flow rate for water or the burn rate for the lamps.  The sand clock showed the flow of sand between two glass reservoirs (hour glass).  The modern clocks use two or more pointers (hands) moving over a marked circular dial, or a digital display using light emitting diodes.  The quartz clock can use either a circular dial with hands or digital display to show the time.

The clock in the Salisbury Cathedral in Salisbury, England is believed to be the oldest continuously running clock in the world.

The Salisbury chiming clock was originally installed in the bell tower in 1386.  It resided in the bell tower until 1789 when the tower was torn down.

The clock now resides in the north nave aisle of the cathedral.  In the 622 years of operation the clock has ticked over 5,000,000 times.

The manufacture of clocks became a thriving industry during the 14th and 15th centuries.  Soon every city and town had to have its own clock.  The basic mechanism did not change during this period.  The development of better ways to produce the gears and other metal parts contributed greatly to the Industrial Revolution.

You can still find many of these giant old clocks in town centers and other important meeting centers.  Many modern civic and commercial facilities are incorporating wall clocks or pedestal clocks in their architecture.

Horology (literally the study of time) is the science of measuring time.  Clocks, time pieces, watches and chronometers are examples of instruments for measuring time.

Clock:  The word clock comes from Celtic words clagan and clocca which means bell. For horologist the word clock refers only to devices which use a sticking mechanism to announce time intervals caustically (chiming clock). Traditionally a silent instrument which lacked a striking acoustical mechanism was known as a timepiece.  In general usage today clock refers to any device which measures and displays time and is not worn on the person.   

Pierre Curie (1859-1906) is best known for his early work on radiation with his wife, Marie.  He also played a pioneering role in the development of the quartz clock.  While working with his brother Jacques they discovered the phenomenon of piezoelectricity in 1880.  They discovered that certain quartz crystals produced electricity when put under pressure. They later determined that the reverse was also true; when electricity is applied to the crystal, it deforms and vibrates.

The vibrations of the quartz crystal provide a very reliable and accurate time keeper.  The quartz crystal acts as an oscillator, replacing the balance wheel in modern timekeepers.  It vibrates at a constant rate, measured in cycles per second (Hertz).  Electric circuits counts the vibrations, and translates them into seconds, minutes, hours, dates and other time related data.

Big Ben the most famous clock in the world is located in the clock    tower of the Parliament in London, England.  Most of the House of Parliaments was burned by a fire in 1834.  This tragedy presented an opportunity to rebuild on a grander scale.  Part of the rebuilding included a new clock tower, and new clock.  The Astronomer Royal imposed strict requirements for the new clock.  The first stroke for each hour had to be accurate within one second and the clocks performance had to be telegraphed twice each day to the Greenwich Observatory to check the accuracy.  A pendulum clock design was chosen.  The pendulum of the clock has a shelf with a set of weights.  The removal of one of the smallest weights would cause the clock to lose two-fifths of a second in 24 hours. 

 Over more than 150 years Big Ben’s bell has been used to commemorate both solemn and joyous occasions such as the end of World War I, and the annual day of remembrance for England war dead.

The clock was one of the first devices invented by man.  It was invented when man realized the need to measure intervals lease than the natural units of days, lunar cycles and seasons. These measurements required the development of new devices.  devices operating on several different physical principals have been used.  The sun dial was one of the earliest devices.  Water clocks, weights, pendulums, springs and quartz clocks were used at various times All of these evolved into the modern clock.