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A water clock or clepsydra (from Ancient Greek κλεψύδρα (klepsúdra) 'pipette, water clock'; from κλέπτω (kléptō) 'to steal' and ὕδωρ (hydor) 'water'; lit. ' water thief ' ) is a timepiece by which time is measured by the regulated flow of liquid into (inflow type) or out from (outflow type) a vessel, and where the amount ...
There are no recognised examples in existence of outflowing water clocks from ancient Mesopotamia, but written references have survived. [14] The introduction of the water clock to China, perhaps from Mesopotamia, occurred as far back as the 2nd millennium BC, during the Shang dynasty, and at the latest by the 1st millennium BC. Around 550 AD ...
A reproduction of the elephant clock in the Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai. A reproduction in Kasımiye Medrese, Mardin, Turkey. The timing mechanism is based on a water-filled basin hidden inside the elephant. In the bucket is a deep bowl floating in the water, but with a small hole in the centre. The bowl takes half an hour to fill through this hole.
c. 3500 BC - Egyptian obelisks are among the earliest shadow clocks. [1] c. 1500 BC - The oldest of all known sundials, dating back to the 19th Dynasty. [2] c. 500 BC - A shadow clock is developed similar in shape to a bent T-square. [3] 3rd century BC - Berossos invents the hemispherical sundial. [4] 270 BCE - Ctesibius builds a water clock.
A model of the water clock. The Borugak Jagyeongnu ("Water Clock of Borugak Pavilion"), classified as a scientific instrument, is the 229th National Treasure of South Korea and was designated by the South Korean government on March 3, 1985. The water clock is currently held and managed by the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul.
[11] [12] Sundials existed in China since ancient times, but very little is known of their history. It is known that the ancient Chinese developed a form of sundials c. 800 BCE, and the sundials eventually evolved to very sophisticated water clocks by 1000 CE, and sometime in the Song dynasty (1000–1400 CE), a compass would sometimes also be ...
Ctesibius' water clock, as visualized by the 17th-century French architect Claude Perrault. Ctesibius or Ktesibios or Tesibius (Ancient Greek: Κτησίβιος; fl. 285–222 BCE) was a Greek inventor and mathematician in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt. [1] Very little is known of Ctesibius' life, but his inventions were well known in his ...
The Romans used various ancient timekeeping devices. According to Pliny , Sundials , or shadow clocks, were first introduced to Rome when a Greek sundial captured from the Samnites was set up publicly around 293-290 BC., [ 2 ] with another early known example being imported from Sicily in 263 BC. [ 8 ]