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Article:
Horology - Back in Time by: Martin Smith You should be familiar with some terminology before you learn about watches. Horology is the art of making clocks, watches and other devices for telling time and it is also the study/science of measuring time. An effort has been made to measure time since man appeared on earth. Using candles marked at intervals, tracking the sun in the sky, oil lamps with marked reservoirs, and hour/sandglasses are some of the ways in which time was measured. Cords with knots were use as well as small metal or stone mazes filled with incense that burned at a certain rate. Water clocks did not rely upon the watching of the sky or of the sun. Around 1500 B.C. the earliest water clock was found in Amenhotep's tomb. They were called Clepsydras by the Greeks and were stone containers with sloped sides that allowed water to drip through a small whole in the bottom at a continuous rate. Cylindrically and bowl shaped containers that allow water to slowly fill up with water at a steady pace are also Clepsydras. Hours were indicated by the markings on the inside of the bowl. This was used predominantly at night but it is believed they were used in the day hours as well. A bowl made of metal with a hole in the bottom was inside a larger bowl filled with water. It would fill up and it would then sink in a certain amount of time. Water flow was unpredictable and difficult to control accurately so timepieces that depended on water were very inaccurate. People were desirous of developing more accurate ways of measuring and telling time. Creating a frequency was dependent upon the size, shape and temperature of the crystal in the development of quartz crystal clocks and time pieces. Still popular today are quartz crystal clocks and watches. Most people can afford them and although they tend to be slightly off of the correct time, they work well for the price. No minute hand was on the first watches but they did have natural movement. Every twelve hours they required winding. Originally watches were worn for adornment rather than functionality. Weights in portable timepieces were not practical. From the beginning man's goal has been to measure time and a time line will show you how watches have to gottten to be what they are today There are new functions on watches. They have stop watches, times across time zones, the date and the time. Some kind of an alarm is put in most watches. I can really see the Dick Tracy kind of watch being real, the possibilities are endless. Although some of the years might not be in chronological order but they are as close as possible. Learning how watches have developed is very interesting. It is incredible when I think of how smart and technical the minds of the people who had their hand in inventing watches. The driving power of timepieces prior to '1600
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