Mechanical Clocks

Curated by: Benjamin Montgomery (Image 8, Varley Cornelius)

Before the mechanical clock was invented, telling time was not very accurate at all; if you wanted to tell the time, you would have to use things like water clocks, sundials, or sand clocks, none of which using mechanical means. Due to the fact that time keeping was inaccurate, the first mechanical clock was eventually built in order to tell time better.

The mechanical clock worked using a weight driven system. The earlier models used weights attached to a string which would slowly fall and spin the hands of the clock. This was eventually switched to a spring driven system, though. The spring driven system would use the force of the unwinding spring to spin the hands of the clock. (Suplee, Curt.)

Mechanical clocks are still used today, alongside other types of clocks like quartz powered ones. Although the reasons why the mechanical clock was so important is it was a large step in the path of making more accurate timekeeping devices like pendulum clocks. (Paradowski, Robert)

A blueprint of a mechanical clock

(Image 9)

The mechanical clock also affected many civilizations after it. This is due to it being a large basis on how other types of clocks were made. Its mechanisms were advanced and had a large impact on other mechanical powered objects. (Paradowski, Robert)

(Mutlow, H.)

The mechanical clock left a large impact on the world. This is due to it being more accurate than any other types of clocks for the time, like a sundial, or a water clock. It was also more reliable, working in types of weather other clocks couldn't. Like how a water clock cannot work in freezing temperatures, and a sundial cannot work in cloudy weather. The overall better accuracy and reliability of these clocks allowed for time to be told in a much better way, allowing people to rely on these clocks more for things like scheduling events. (Andrewes, William J.H. pp. 77)

(Clocks: Watches and Clocks)

Another blueprint of a mechanical clock, this one having a bell

(Image 10)

Here are some other interesting sites, in case you would like to learn more about mechanical clocks.

A short video which explains how they work: Mechanical Clocks

A short paper on how mechanical clocks have changed over time: A Walk Through Time - A Revolution in Timekeeping

An FAQ which explains how some other types of clocks work: Timekeeping and clocks FAQs

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