The Origins of the Clock

Long ago people differentiate day and night with looking at the sun. But what happens if the cloudy time? Do you know how people in ancient times to accurately determine the time? Apparently the clock has been used since ancient times, through various forms of evolution to be a clock that we see today.

The word of "clock" itself has been used since the 14th century or about 700 years ago, which is derived from the Latin word "clocca."  Some say that the origin of the word "clock" comes from the French word "cloche" meaning bell. The Latin for bell is "glocio", the Saxon is "clugga" and the German is "glocke".

The world's earliest sundials in Kings' Valley, Upper Egypt. (Picture from: http://optiontravel.com.eg/)

The oldest clock is called sundial clock used around 3500 BC. This clock shows the time based on the location of the sun, by utilizing shade that struck a flat surface which is then marked by the hours in a day.

Hourglass.

The ancient Egyptians around 5,000 to 6,000 years ago measure time and made a calendar using the obelisk. The hourglass appears around 1400 BC, based on relics found in the tomb Amenhotep I.

The Ancient Egyptians water clock
 called clepsydra. (Picture from:
http://flutuante.wordpress.com/)

Its legacy in the form of a small vessel containing water that has a hole in the bottom that serves tears. The water clock was discovered in Egypt and called clepsydra (kleph-sur-druh), in the year 1400 BC.

An early prototype of the alarm clock was invented by Ctesibius who was a Greek Inventor around 250 BC. The Greeks built a water clock where the raising waters would both keep time and eventually hit a mechanical bird that triggered an alarming whistle.

Greek's water clock. (Picture from: http://flutuante.wordpress.com/)

The first geared clock was invented by the 11th-century Arab engineer Ibn Khalaf al-Muradi in Islamic Iberia; it was a water clock that employed both segmental and epicyclic gearing. Then Al-Jazari (1136-1206) made ​​a water clock in the form of an elephant and can make sound at every hour.

This amazing 7.62 m (25 feet) reproduction of master automaton maker, Al Jazari was the first automaton clock. (Picture from: http://www.oobject.com/)

In 1504, the first portable (but not very accurate) timepiece was invented in Nuremberg, Germany by Peter Henlein. The first reported person to actually wear a watch on the wrist was the French mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). With a piece of string, he attached his pocket watch to his wrist.

One of the first pocket watches
 called "Nuremberg Egg", made around 
1510 and attributed to Peter Henlein.
(Picture from: http://en.wikipedia.org/)

In 1577, Jost Burgi invented the minute hand. Burgi's invention was part of a clock made for Tycho Brahe, an astronomer who needed an accurate clock for his stargazing. In 1656, the pendulum was invented by Christian Huygens, making clocks more accurate.

The first mechanical alarm clock was invented by Levi Hutchins of Concord, New Hampshire, in 1787. However, the ringing bell alarm on his clock could ring only at 4 am. On October 24, 1876 a mechanical wind-up alarm clock that could be set for any time was patented (#183,725) by Seth E Thomas.

In 1908, the Westclox Clock Company is issued a patent for the Big Ben alarm clock. The outstanding feature on this clock is the bell-back, which completely envelops the inner case back and is an integral part of the case. The bell-back provides a loud alarm.

The Warren Clock Company was formed in 1912 by Mr. Henry Warren as President. The company started by producing a new type of clock run by batteries, prior to that, clocks were either wound or run by weights.

According to the Smithsonian, in 1927, Canadian-born Warren Marrison, a telecommunications engineer, was searching for reliable frequency standards at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Building on earlier work in piezoelectricity, he developed a very large, highly accurate clock based on the regular vibrations of a quartz crystal in an electrical circuit - the first quartz clock.

In the 1950's the first digital clock created by the Hamilton Watch Co. in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as the first company to make electric clock / digital. After that came a couple of brand watches that still exist to this day. Digital watches a new breakthrough designs, especially for the world clock and timekeeping, from how life-like bracelets and clock material made ​​of silicon. Clock is in great demand, especially among teenagers. The colors that resemble jelly is very interesting, and can be used both men and women. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | ABOUT | SEPTI | PIKIRAN RAKYAT 28032013]

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