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A Water Clock or Clepsydra: Sundia Hourglass

Shadow clocks were some of the earliest timekeeping devices, used in ancient Egypt as early as 3500 BC to divide the day into parts using the shadow cast by an object. An hourglass measures time by the regulated flow of sand from one bulb to another, allowing the user to invert it to begin timing again. A water clock tells time by the regulated flow of water into or out of a vessel, with the oldest known examples dating back to ancient Babylon and Egypt in the 16th century BC. A candle clock indicates the passage of time through consistently spaced markings on a candle that burns at a regular rate. The astronomical clock built by Al-Jazari in 1206 had multiple functions including a zodiac display and moving

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116 views3 pages

A Water Clock or Clepsydra: Sundia Hourglass

Shadow clocks were some of the earliest timekeeping devices, used in ancient Egypt as early as 3500 BC to divide the day into parts using the shadow cast by an object. An hourglass measures time by the regulated flow of sand from one bulb to another, allowing the user to invert it to begin timing again. A water clock tells time by the regulated flow of water into or out of a vessel, with the oldest known examples dating back to ancient Babylon and Egypt in the 16th century BC. A candle clock indicates the passage of time through consistently spaced markings on a candle that burns at a regular rate. The astronomical clock built by Al-Jazari in 1206 had multiple functions including a zodiac display and moving

Uploaded by

ptv7105
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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20th-century sundial

An hourglass

A water clock or clepsydra

Candle Clock

Astronomical Clocks

Sundials have their origin in shadow clocks , which were the first devices used for measuring the parts of a day.The
oldest known shadow clock is from Egypt, and was made from green schist Ancient Egyptian obelisks ,
constructed about 3500 BC, are also among the earliest shadow clocks. Egyptian shadow clocks divided daytime
into 10 parts, with an additional four twilight hourstwo in the morning, and two in the evening. One type of
shadow clock consisted of a long stem with five variable marks and an elevated crossbar which cast a shadow over
those marks. It was positioned eastward in the morning, and was turned west at noon.
An hourglass or sandglass measures the passage of a few minutes or an hour of time. It has two connected vertical
glass bulbs allowing a regulated trickle of material from the top to the bottom. Once the top bulb is empty, it can
be inverted to begin timing again.
A water clock or clepsydra is a timepiece in which time is measured by the regulated flow of liquid into (inflow
type) or out from (outflow type) a vessel where the amount is then measured. The bowl-shaped outflow is the
simplest form of a water clock and is known to have existed in Babylon and in Egypt around the 16th century BC.
A candle clock is a thin candle with consistently spaced markings usually with numbers, that when burned,
indicate the passage of periods of time. Candle clocks provided an effective way to tell time indoors, at night, or on
a cloudy day. A candle clock could be easily transformed into a timer by sticking a heavy nail into the candle at the
mark indicating the desired interval. When the wax surrounding the nail melts, the nail clatters onto a plate
below.
Astronomical clock was built by Al-Jazari in 1206. This castle clock was a complex device that was about 11 feet
(3.4 m) high, and had multiple functions alongside timekeeping. It included a display of the zodiac and the solar
and lunar paths, and a pointer in the shape of the crescent moon which travelled across the top of a gateway,
moved by a hidden cart and causing doors to open, each revealing a mannequin, every hour. It was possible to
reset the length of day and night in order to account for the changing lengths of day and night throughout the
year.

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