Water clocks are a unique invention that people used back in 150 BC. In those days, time intervals were measured by the amount of leaked water. The first copy was created by Ctesibius and gave them the name "clepsydra", which in Greek means "take water." They were a vessel on the surface of which a time scale was applied. Arabic numerals denote night hours , and Roman numerals denote day hours. The mechanism of their action was as follows: water dripped into the container at certain intervals. An increase in the liquid level raised the float, due to which the time indicator came into motion.
By the time such a marvelous invention appeared, water clocks were known to the peoples of the Far East in a more primitive form.
Especially very popular in China and India. Here they were represented by a hemispherical bowl, which had a natural opening. Through it, water slowly collected. Such a water clock measured the time between immersion of a bowl in a liquid and its immersion in a pool. According to preliminary data, in India they were called “yala-yantra” and existed there for another 300 years BC.
In Egypt, time was measured by fluid leakage. Such a water clock was created from an alabaster vessel, which was completely filled with water.
Fluid flowed out through a small hole. Due to the fact that the day was divided into night (from sunset to sunrise) and day, the duration of the hour depended on the time of year. Interestingly, its duration was not exactly established until the 14th century. That is why on some types of mechanisms for
determining the time were indicated by 12 hour scales that corresponded to the months of the year.
Carrying out time measurements in this way was quite complicated. Firstly, the watch had many scales. Secondly, a special device was required to control the flow of water. Most often, it was represented by a conic correcting element, due to which the fluid level and its flow rate were adjusted.
So, for example, in ancient times, a speaker could speak only until water flowed out of one vessel. Now these ancient ways are held at school: with the help of improvised means,
watches are made
. For children, the craft made of a plastic bottle, wire and scotch tape recalls the ancient history of such an
interesting invention.In the modern world, virtually no one determines the time using a liquid. However, the water clock in Japan, located at the Osaka railway station , is completely composed of H 2 O. In order to get the corresponding pictures and numbers, the drops “fly out” of the special device at regular intervals. This creative solution was implemented by Orient.
Another water clock in a modern solution can be purchased in various online stores. The principle of their work is to draw the electrons of water molecules, which provide an electric flow thanks to a special (electrolytic) engine. Therefore, in order for the device to show time, it is sufficient to fill it with H 2 O once every six weeks.