The Evolution of Timekeeping: Water Clocks in China and Mechanical Clocks in Europe - Research Article from Science and Its Times

This encyclopedia article consists of approximately 6 pages of information about The Evolution of Timekeeping.

The Evolution of Timekeeping: Water Clocks in China and Mechanical Clocks in Europe - Research Article from Science and Its Times

This encyclopedia article consists of approximately 6 pages of information about The Evolution of Timekeeping.
This section contains 1,574 words
(approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page)
Buy The Evolution of Timekeeping: Water Clocks in China and Mechanical Clocks in Europe Encyclopedia Article

Overview

Early in history, humans sought methods to tell time. A concept rather than a physical entity, time eluded accurate measurement for many centuries. One of the first successful timekeeping devices was the water clock, which was perfected in China in the eighth century. It wasn't until nearly seven centuries later that mechanical clocks began to make their appearance. Mechanical clocks not only made timekeeping much more precise, which was important for scientific purposes, but also introduced it to the masses when centrally located clock towers equipped with bells loudly struck the hour.

Background

One solar day spans one rotation of the earth on its axis. This natural unit of time is still the basic unit of timekeeping. For a variety of reasons, however...

(read more)

This section contains 1,574 words
(approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page)
Buy The Evolution of Timekeeping: Water Clocks in China and Mechanical Clocks in Europe Encyclopedia Article
Copyrights
Gale
The Evolution of Timekeeping: Water Clocks in China and Mechanical Clocks in Europe from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.