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| The Clock of Flowing Time Europa-Center, Berlin www.secretcitytravel.com/berlin |
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| The Hypnotic Effects of an E-Clepsydra A conversation between two intelligent women |
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| The Water Clock or Clepsydra |
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| Quiz #480 Results |
| Answer to Quiz #480- June 14, 2015 |
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Congratulations to Our Winners! Margaret Paxton Ida Sanchez Gus Marsh Tony Knapp Maggie Gould Jim Kiser Carol Farrant Cindy Costigan Jon Edens Ellen Welker Megan Neilsen Grace Hertz and Mary Turner The Fabulous Fletchers! |
| If you enjoy our quizzes, don't forget to order our books! Click here. |
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| If you have a picture you'd like us to feature a picture in a future quiz, please email it to us at CFitzp@aol.com. If we use it, you will receive a free analysis of your picture. You will also receive a free Forensic Genealogy CD or a 10% discount towards the purchase of the Forensic Genealogy book. |
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How Ida and Tony Solved the Puzzle |
| I have to admit I almost gave up. I was lost between barometers and thermometers, a combination of both and all other weather-related devices. Then, plain and simple observation without any searches brought the answer. I started thinking, what would need numbers from 1 to 11 and also from 1 to 60...Duhhhhh Funny thing is, I googled "fluid based clocks" and most of the answers were about cleaning fluids for mechanic clocks, so I had to take the "cleaning" out and I saw that the proper name was "water clock". Searching specifically for it brought me to the Wikipedia page that holds all the answers. Ida Sanchez ***** I tried a different approach to this picture. I tried just looking at the picture without looking at the questions. When I saw this picture I was reminded of the quizzes which had similar types of glass devices which measured pressure and temperature. At first I just tried some general searches like "glassware with blue liquid" which turned out to be too general. So I looked more closely at the "numbers" and it dawned on me that it measured time so it was a clock. I searched for "blue liquid in glass clock" and saw a similar picture from wikipedia. On going to wikipedia, I learned that it was a water clock (or clepsydra) which had been developed by Bernard Gitton. On searching images for "Bernard Gitton clock" I came upon the above image which was located at indiansinkuwait.com. This site gave a very good description of how the clock worked. This particular clock is the only water clock in the Gulf. It is located at the Souk Sharq Mall in Kuwait City, Kuwait, and is an inflow water clock. After finding this information I looked at the questions. Tony Knapp |
| The Modern Water Clock |
| Click on thumbnail of water clock to see an animated version of how it works. Clock will be initialized by the clock on your computer. Enjoy! |
| I'm risking being tardy again in getting a properly set-out reply to you for the latest wicked quiz. I say "wicked" because it diverted me earlier in the week from things I should have been doing. Not because of the questions you asked, but because of those you didn't. Working out what I was looking at (after initially being flummoxed) was not the problem. The problem was understanding how it worked. "What is the go of it?" (to quote James Clerk Maxwell) is what sends us to physics in the first place, n'est-ce pas? Just in case you haven't already happened upon it, those answers are at web.archive.org/web/20130329012642/ and www.marcdatabase.com/~lemur/dm-gitton.html#clocktheory along with a really cool animation at www.cadrans-solaires.fr/Cadran-clepsydre.html Be sure to "cliquez ici". The result, in my experience, locks to the time on your computer's clock and continues to sit there as an alternative time-keeper. So we don't actually have to go to Kuwait (or Indianapolis, Berlin, or ...) to see Gitton's extraordinary work in action. More anon, Megan Neilsen **** Darn you Megan! I've been sitting here totally hypnotized by this animation of the water clock. Totally fascinating! I've been watching it on my phone and it seems to be running too slow. It's probably because of the refresh rate of the phone. It started out at 9:58 - which was the correct time- but it didn't flip over to 10 am until it was really 10:05 am. I am going to look at it on my laptop. Maybe it will stay in synch. I'd actually like to use it as the clock for my desktop. If the water clock runs smoothly on my computer, I will use it to make sure my computer clock is running correctly. :-) - Q. Gen. ***** Same reaction as I had - Darn you Colleen! OK, seems that it's me who found the hypnotic animation, but it's your fault in the first place, you wicked woman. I've had it running, on and off, over the last week. On my desktop box with big grunt it keeps pretty good time. I think it depends more on processor resources than on refresh rate. With an independent processor it would be a great everyday clock. And yes, great minds ... I've contemplated that too. It is indeed fascinating but I'm presently giving it a rest. He who has his head in nonlinear dynamic systems most waking hours walked by remarking, "Are you still looking at that clock!" Now that's a great case of the pot calling the kettle black, don't you think? Enough! Except to say it would be nice if I'd spelt clepsydra correctly in what I sent earlier ... Megan |
A water clock or clepsydra (Greek
κλεψύδρα from κλέπτειν kleptein, 'to
steal'; ὕδωρ hydor, 'water') is any
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.
Water clocks, along with sundials, are
likely to be the oldest time-measuring
instruments, with the only exceptions
being the vertical gnomon and the day-
counting tally stick. Where and when
they were first invented is not known,
and given their great antiquity it may
never be. 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. Other
regions of the world, including India and
China, also have early evidence of water
clocks, but the earliest dates are less
certain. Some authors, however, claim
that water clocks appeared in China as
early as 4000 BC.
Some modern timepieces are called
"water clocks" but work differently from
the ancient ones. Their timekeeping is
governed by a pendulum, but they use
water for other purposes, such as
providing the power needed to drive the
clock by using a water wheel or
something similar, or by having water in
their displays.
The Greeks and Romans advanced water
clock design to include the inflow
clepsydra with an early feedback system,
gearing, and escapement mechanism,
which were connected to fanciful
automata and resulted in improved
accuracy. Further advances were made
in Byzantium, Syria and Mesopotamia,
where increasingly accurate water clocks
incorporated complex segmental and
epicyclic gearing, water wheels, and
programmability, advances which
eventually made their way to Europe.
Independently, the Chinese developed
their own advanced water clocks,
incorporating gears, escapement
mechanisms, and water wheels, passing
their ideas on to Korea and Japan.
Some water clock designs were
developed independently and some
knowledge was transferred through the
spread of trade. These early water clocks
were calibrated with a sundial. While
never reaching a level of accuracy
κλεψύδρα from κλέπτειν kleptein, 'to
steal'; ὕδωρ hydor, 'water') is any
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.
Water clocks, along with sundials, are
likely to be the oldest time-measuring
instruments, with the only exceptions
being the vertical gnomon and the day-
counting tally stick. Where and when
they were first invented is not known,
and given their great antiquity it may
never be. 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. Other
regions of the world, including India and
China, also have early evidence of water
clocks, but the earliest dates are less
certain. Some authors, however, claim
that water clocks appeared in China as
early as 4000 BC.
Some modern timepieces are called
"water clocks" but work differently from
the ancient ones. Their timekeeping is
governed by a pendulum, but they use
water for other purposes, such as
providing the power needed to drive the
clock by using a water wheel or
something similar, or by having water in
their displays.
The Greeks and Romans advanced water
clock design to include the inflow
clepsydra with an early feedback system,
gearing, and escapement mechanism,
which were connected to fanciful
automata and resulted in improved
accuracy. Further advances were made
in Byzantium, Syria and Mesopotamia,
where increasingly accurate water clocks
incorporated complex segmental and
epicyclic gearing, water wheels, and
programmability, advances which
eventually made their way to Europe.
Independently, the Chinese developed
their own advanced water clocks,
incorporating gears, escapement
mechanisms, and water wheels, passing
their ideas on to Korea and Japan.
Some water clock designs were
developed independently and some
knowledge was transferred through the
spread of trade. These early water clocks
were calibrated with a sundial. While
never reaching a level of accuracy
Only a few modern water clocks exist today. In 1979, French scientist Bernard Gitton
began creating his Time-Flow Clocks, which are a modern-day approach to the
historical version. His unique glass tube designs can be found in over 30 locations
throughout the world, including one at Europa-Center's The Clock of Flowing Time in
Berlin, Centre Commercial Milenis in Guadeloupe, the Giant Water Clock at The
Children's Museum of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the Shopping Iguatemi
in São Paulo and Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Gitton's design relies on gravity powering multiple siphons in same principle as the
Pythagorean cup; for example, after the water level in the minute or hour display tubes
is reached, an overflow tube starts to act as a siphon and thus empties the display tube.
Actual time keeping is done by a calibrated pendulum powered by a water stream piped
from the clock's reservoir. The pendulum has a carefully constructed container
attached to it; this measures the water that is then poured into the display system.
There are other modern designs of water clocks, including the Royal Gorge water
clock in Colorado, the Woodgrove Mall in Nanaimo, British Columbia, in the
Abbotsford Airport (formerly at Sevenoaks Shopping Centre) in Abbotsford, British
Columbia, and the Hornsby Water Clock in Sydney, Australia.
began creating his Time-Flow Clocks, which are a modern-day approach to the
historical version. His unique glass tube designs can be found in over 30 locations
throughout the world, including one at Europa-Center's The Clock of Flowing Time in
Berlin, Centre Commercial Milenis in Guadeloupe, the Giant Water Clock at The
Children's Museum of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the Shopping Iguatemi
in São Paulo and Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Gitton's design relies on gravity powering multiple siphons in same principle as the
Pythagorean cup; for example, after the water level in the minute or hour display tubes
is reached, an overflow tube starts to act as a siphon and thus empties the display tube.
Actual time keeping is done by a calibrated pendulum powered by a water stream piped
from the clock's reservoir. The pendulum has a carefully constructed container
attached to it; this measures the water that is then poured into the display system.
There are other modern designs of water clocks, including the Royal Gorge water
clock in Colorado, the Woodgrove Mall in Nanaimo, British Columbia, in the
Abbotsford Airport (formerly at Sevenoaks Shopping Centre) in Abbotsford, British
Columbia, and the Hornsby Water Clock in Sydney, Australia.
| XXX |
| Noon time Time-Flow Clock by Bernard Gitton, Rødovre Centrum, DK www.youtube.com/watch?v=efPJB4uKbfU |
Marking the grand entrance to the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, this unique time-keeping creation is one of only three in the world, and the only one in Colorado. Its splashing water cascades from bucket to bucket, keeping track of every minute of the day. www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM6GEA |
| Royal Gorge Water Clock Canon, Colorado |
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It is a combination of three water-powered clocks – a 4th-century BC Greek clepsydra, an 11th-century Chinese water wheel clock and a 17th-century Swiss pendulum clock – plus a 17- note bronze carillon to ring the hour based on a 250-year-old design found in an old English church. The whole assembly is mounted on a floating pontoon that rotates every 12 hours giving a fourth time indicator as a pointer sweeps past Roman numerals placed in the water around the fountain's perimeter. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornsby_Water_Clock |
| Hornsby Water Clock Florence St., Hornsby, NSW Australia |
| For an explanation of how Bernard Gitton's Water Clocks work, see Bernard Gitton's Liquid Science By David M. MacMillan With "buckets" of help from Daryl Bender web.archive.org/web/20130329012642/http://www.marcdatabase.com/~lemur/dm-gitton.html#clocktheory |
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| The Accuracy of Water Clocks en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_clock |
The rate at which a fluid passes through an orifice depends, other things being equal,
on the viscosity of the fluid. Approximately, the flow rate is inversely proportional to
the viscosity. The viscosity depends on the temperature. Liquids generally become less
viscous as the temperature increases. The reverse is true of gases. In the case of water,
the viscosity varies by a factor of about seven between zero and 100 degrees Celsius.
Thus, a water clock would run about seven times faster at 100 °C than at 0 °C. Water
is about 25 percent more viscous at 20 °C than at 30 °C, and a variation in temperature
of one degree Celsius, in this "room temperature" range, produces a change of viscosity
of about two percent. Therefore, a water clock that keeps good time at some given
temperature would gain or lose about half an hour per day if it were one degree Celsius
warmer or cooler.
To make it keep time within one minute per day would require its temperature to be
controlled within 1⁄30°C (about 1⁄17° Fahrenheit). There is no evidence that this was
done in antiquity, so ancient water clocks (unlike the modern pendulum-controlled one
described above) cannot have been reliably accurate by modern standards.
on the viscosity of the fluid. Approximately, the flow rate is inversely proportional to
the viscosity. The viscosity depends on the temperature. Liquids generally become less
viscous as the temperature increases. The reverse is true of gases. In the case of water,
the viscosity varies by a factor of about seven between zero and 100 degrees Celsius.
Thus, a water clock would run about seven times faster at 100 °C than at 0 °C. Water
is about 25 percent more viscous at 20 °C than at 30 °C, and a variation in temperature
of one degree Celsius, in this "room temperature" range, produces a change of viscosity
of about two percent. Therefore, a water clock that keeps good time at some given
temperature would gain or lose about half an hour per day if it were one degree Celsius
warmer or cooler.
To make it keep time within one minute per day would require its temperature to be
controlled within 1⁄30°C (about 1⁄17° Fahrenheit). There is no evidence that this was
done in antiquity, so ancient water clocks (unlike the modern pendulum-controlled one
described above) cannot have been reliably accurate by modern standards.
| Ancient Persian Water Clock en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_clock |
| A Water Clock in the Forbidden City upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons |
| Elephant Water Clock in Dubai en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_clock |
comparable to today's standards of timekeeping, the water clock was the most accurate
and commonly used timekeeping device for millennia, until it was replaced by more
accurate pendulum clocks in 17th-century Europe.
and commonly used timekeeping device for millennia, until it was replaced by more
accurate pendulum clocks in 17th-century Europe.
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