Water clock at different historical time intervals

Water clock - a unique invention, which people used in 150 BC. In those days, time intervals were measured by the amount of water leaking out. The first copy was created by Ktesibius and gave them the name "klepsydra", which in Greek means "take water". They were a vessel on the surface of which the time scale was applied. Arabic numerals were used for nighttime, and Roman for daytime hours. The mechanism of their action was as follows: water was dripping into the container at certain intervals. Raising the level of the liquid lifted the float, so that the time indicator came into motion.

By the time of such a marvelous invention, the water clock was known to the people of the Far East in a more primitive form. Especially popular in China and India. Here they were represented by a hemispherical bowl, which had a natural aperture. Through it the water was slowly accumulated. 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 300 years before our era.

In Egypt, time was measured by leakage of liquid. Such a water clock was created from an alabaster vessel, which was completely filled with water. The liquid flowed out through a small hole. Due to the fact that the night was divided into night (from sunset to sunrise) and day, the duration of the hour depended on the time of the year. Interestingly, its duration was not exactly established until the 14th century. That is why on some types of mechanisms of time determination were designated 12-hour scale, which corresponded to the months of the year.

Conducting time measurements in this way was quite a complicated matter. Firstly, the clock had many scales. Secondly, a special device was required to regulate the flow of water. More often than not, it was represented by a conical correcting element, through which the liquid level and its flow rate were adjusted. So, for example, during the antiquity, the speaker could perform only until the water escapes from one vessel. Now these ancient ways are held in school: with the help of handy tools, watches are made . For children, the handmade made of plastic bottles, wire and tape reminds of the ancient history of such an interesting invention.

In the modern world, almost no one determines the time with the help of liquid. However, the water clock in Japan, located at the Osaka railway station , consists entirely of H ₂ O. In order to get the appropriate images and figures, the drops "fly out" from the special device at regular intervals. This creative solution was implemented by Orient.

Another water clock in the modern solution can be purchased at various online stores. The principle of their work lies in the extraction of electrons of water molecules, which provide electric flow due 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.