When were clocks used for the first time in science?
Time has been mechanized already by sundials. These nails and chains that are banged in and put around time have been increasingly refined to accumulate in the advent of the atomic clock. So-called Natural units were even invented. Without mechanized time the world would have looked very different. Maybe we have some kind of marshmallow minds. Maybe we could better wear aikhornnuts on our wrists as Krznaric puts it.
When were the first mechanized timekeepers used in science? Was Galileo the first one? Did this use further science a lot? So newer means and more precise keepers could be constructed?
When were the first mechanized timekeepers used in science? Was Galileo the first one? Did this use further science a lot? So newer means and more precise keepers could be constructed?
Comments (18)
I think it was the Babylonian time system the first clockwork or timekeepers ever created. They used to manage the time according to the sun.
Check out: The Babylonian Calendar
I am aware of the importance of mechanical chronometers for navigation around the world and the explorations of Vasco de Gama, Columbus and others. The only way to calculate one's longitude was to compare time zones: if where you are, the sun reaches its zenith X hours later than in Lisbon or Madrid, then it follows that you are at longitude Y. And the only way to do this reliably was to have precise chronometers.
Now that I think of it, what about the earth, the moon, and the sun itself viewed as one giant timepiece? It's mechanical alright and measures time accurately enough. The first organisms to use this colossal chronometer were those who optimized their biology to the light and dark of days, the warmth and cold of seasons. :chin:
Nice idea. It always gives you the right time when we look at it from far away. Maybe we should gauge all atomic hours wrt to that giant clock.
I have heard about waterclocks in ancient Greece.
What puzzles me is that cycles, the very essence of time keeping, is ubiquitous at atomic, planetary, solar system, and galactic scales but there's no evidence of the universe itself being cyclical in some way or another; au contraire, the universe seems to be literally exploding, with "pieces" (galaxies) flying away from the "center" in every conceivable direction. What's up with that? Just a thought.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jantar_Mantar,_Jaipur
:up: An eye opener for me.
• 2nd millennium BCE water clocks
• 7th century CE water clocks with gears
Quoting Heinrich Heine
Ever heard of the Antikythera machine? It’s surely one of the most astounding discoveries in the history of archeology.
Nothing remotely comparable was to be devised until at least 1500 years later, during the Italian Renaissance.
Astonishing! I put a star under your comment! I heard about a hydra-something, but never of this one!
Digital clocks are more faithful to the true nature of Cronus than its predecessors (analog timepieces)!
When were clocks used for the first time in science?
Most probably at noon. It was easiest to set the clocks at noon. The sun was at the Zenith position and that was a dead giveaway. Then everyone synchronized their first clocks.