Category:Time Measurement

From Object Wiki

We all have a relationship with clocks, maybe a treasured family heirloom or simply the plastic alarm clock which wakes you every morning. But where do clocks come from? Why are they so special? What is it about timekeepers that has attracted the most dedicated and precise engineers to work with this technology?

Our calendar is based on slices of time governed by the Moon and Earth moving around the Sun in the sky. Throughout history, this kind of astronomical timekeeping was good enough but people need to keep track of hours, minutes, and seconds as well as days, months, and years.

Mechanical clocks really are something of a mystery. First appearing out of the dark ages with no clue as to where they were invented or who by. Examples of geared mechanisms have been found which are far older than this. But what happened to turn sophisticated astronomical calculating machines into a device which would come to influence all our lives?

Clocks have entered our homes and are familiar fixture for all of us. But some clocks are more than machines that count hours. Special regulator clocks used by laboratories or large factories used to ensure all the clocks counted time at the same rate.

The technology of clocks has changed from beautifully crafted mechanical marvels; to sophisticated electronic devices; no longer counting hours but measuring the tiny vibrations of quartz crystals.

The descriptions for many of these items come directly from the 1964 catalogue.