The Evolution of Timekeeping: Water Clocks in China and Mechanical Clocks in Europe
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, humans from past to present have desired smaller increments for determining the time. Thousands of years ago, humans began to separate the day into sections. At first, they assigned such broad categories as late morning or early afternoon, or identified the time of day by its association to mealtimes. By 2100 B.C., Egyptians had begun dividing the day and night each into 12 parts.
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