History of clocks

Want to Learn about the History of Clocks?

“Time is Gold,” as the saying goes. People all over the world value time so much that it is more valued than money. Time runs so fast that sometimes we have a hard time keeping track of it. We use clocks to keep track of time. But how was the clock invented?

History of Clocks – Discovery for Humanity

For those of you who don’t know the origin of the clock, this article may help you to understand how clocks were invented and developed to measure time precisely. Maybe after this article, you will learn to appreciate time even better.

The word “clock” comes from the Latin word “clocca” meaning bell. Clock comes in different types and sizes, and we know that their only purpose is to tell the time. In the ancient times, people rely on the sun as the tool to determine time. They look at the sun as it cross the sky. When the sun is directly overhead, it means noontime. On the other hand, when the sun reaches the horizon, this means either early morning or evening. But this method is, by far, very primitive and inaccurate. With the use of the sun, the ancient people thought of a device that would measure time accurately. The sundial clock is the oldest clock ever made. The sundial clock uses the shadows of the sun to point to the numbers inscribed on the disk that will show the time. Although it can somehow measure/show time, there was one disadvantage of the sundial clock. It only used the sun as its medium, so it was an only used during the day.

Determining the disadvantage of the sundial clock, the people thought of using the water as its new medium to determine the time. So the Egyptians invented the water clock. Its name was “clepsydra.” It is made of two containers, one higher than the other. The higher container has a tube connected to the lower container when water travels, and these containers have marks to tell the time. There water clocks can be used day and night. It was more accurate than the sundial clocks.

Aside from devising a tool that would measure time, they agreed on dividing a year into twelve parts called months. They divided the months into 30 days for a total of 360 days following the circular pattern of 360 degrees (just like the rotation of the earth). Then somebody figured out that they should divide the day into 60 minutes and the minutes into 60 seconds.

Modern Time Tellers

When the period of industrialization took place, the emergence of pendulum clocks and the discovery of the quartz were used to measure time more accurately. Clocks are really essential to our day-to-day activities. So always be sensitive to the time you spent and enjoy every second of it!