Tickipedia: 1400AD-1600AD
Time, one of the seven fundamental physical quantities in the International System of Units, is a dimension in which we all exist. It marches on as certain as the sun rises and sets, and its behaviour has fascinated scientists as far back as history recalls. In this edition of Tickipedia, we discover how the mechanical clock came to be.
The Salisbury cathedral clock, built in the 14th century, is considered to be the world’s oldest clock
Despite thousands of years passing since its invention, the sundial was still in use in the 1400s, albeit more refined and accurate. Trigonometry expert Abu’l-Hasan Ibn al-Shatir had deduced that a gnomon (the part of the sundial that casts the shadow) parallel to the Earth’s axis would indicate equal hours in any season, a design that only came into use in the western world in 1446.
Large numbers of sundials were manufactured in France during the 1500s, and even into the 1600s. With it came the acceptance of a heliocentric solar system (where the planets orbit the sun), as well as great leaps in maths and science. This helped pave the way for the next big thing in watchmaking: the mechanical clock.
Towards the tail end of the 14th century, the Salisbury clock—that some consider to be the oldest mechanical clock in the world—was built. Still in existence today, it exhibits design features from clocks built much later in the second millennium, and has been the subject of much controversy regarding its origin.
Nevertheless, the ball was rolling on the mechanical clock, which had become something of an icon for religion. It wasn’t until 1466 that a clock was first used for secular purposes, erected atop Dublin’s city courthouse, and featuring only an hour hand. This sparked a fashion for tower clocks, which appeared later in places like Leeds castle, St Mark’s Square in Venice, and Prague.
As the 17th century approached, polymaths like Galileo Galilei sought to perfect the mechanical clock, to increase its accuracy for use in astronomy. In 1580, Galileo began investigations into the next breakthrough in clockmaking technology: the use of a swinging pendulum to regulate the beat of passing time. Although he never actually built a pendulum clock, it was his idea that would go on to make clocks go from being accurate by the hour to ticking within just a few seconds a day.
Next time we’ll investigate the work of Christiaan Huygens, the man that took timekeeping forward by several centuries.
