The Shepherd Gate Clock, Greenwich, London, England

The Shepherd Gate ClockThe Shepherd Gate clock at Greenwich was installed in 1852 and was the first to provide Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to the public. It is a 24 hour clock with noon at the bottom.

‘Big Ben’, Westminster, London, England

‘Big Ben’, Westminster, London, EnglandThe four dials of Big Ben are 23 feet square, the minute hand is 14 feet long and the figures are two feet high. The Westminster Chimes are the same notes first used on the clock in the University Church tower of St. Mary’s, Cambridge, England, and in 1859, selected for the Victoria Clock Tower in the Houses of Parliament in London. There, the hour is still struck on the famous old bell, "Big Ben", after the four famous phrases have been played on the smaller bells. The music was inspired by a phrase (see below) from Handel's symphony, "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth", and the words and music were arranged by William Crotch in 1793.

Lord through this hour
Be thou our guide
So, by thy power
No foot shall slide

Kulkulkan, Chichem Itza, Mexico

World's biggest clockThe pyramid clock of the snake god Kulkulkan in the temple city of Chichen Itza in Mexico is the world’s largest clock. The solstices and equinoxes are indicated by the shadows cast on its steps in relation to the position of the Sun.

Jens Olsen's World Clock, Copenhagen City Hall

Jens Olsen's World ClockThis masterpiece, inspired by one in Strasbourg Cathedral, tells the time and shows the night sky, Moon phases, solar eclipses and the lengths of day and night. It consists of 12 movements which together have over 14,000 parts. The clock is mechanical and must be wound once a week. The fastest gear completes a revolution every ten seconds, and the slowest will have completed a full circuit every 25,753 years.

Strasbourg Cathedral Clock

Strasbourg Cathedral ClockThis clock dating from 1843 is 18 metres high, one of the largest in the world. The original dates back to 1352-1354. The current clock’s main features, besides significant automata, are a perpetual calendar (including a computus – calculating the date of Easter each year), an orrery (planetary dial), a display of the real position of the Sun and the Moon, and solar and lunar eclipses. The main attraction is the procession of the Apostles which occurs every day at 12:30pm, that is at noon clock time. The automata are animated characters launched into movement at different hours of the day. One angel sounds the bell while a second turns over a sandglass. Different characters representing the ages of life (from a child to an old man) parade in front of Death. At 12.30 pm the Apostles process in front of Christ.

The ‘Orloj’ Astronomical Clock, Prague

The ‘Orloj’ Astronomical Clock, PragueThe oldest part of the Orloj, the mechanical clock and astronomical dial, dates back to 1410 when it was made by clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadan and Jan Šindel, the latter a professor of mathematics and astronomy at Charles University. The Prague Orloj was one of a number of complex astronomical clocks designed and constructed during the 14th and 15th centuries, soon after the invention of the mechanical clock. The clock delivers a procession of the Twelve Apostles. On the hour, every hour, a small trap door opens and Christ marches out ahead of his disciples, while the skeleton of death tolls the bell to a defiant statue of a Turk.

Times Square Clock

Time Square ClockTimes Square was christened as such in 1904 when the subway stop in the area was named for it most famous resident, The New York Times. It has since evolved into the centre for time and news in NYC and a symbol of the excitement of the city itself. The digital clock in Times Square is perhaps one of the most famous time keepers in the world.

The Clock of the Long Now

The Clock of the Long NowThe idea to build a monument scale, multi-millennial, all mechanical clock as an icon to long term thinking came from computer scientist Danny Hillis and was published in the form of an email to friends. Later it was followed up with an essay published in the 01995 Wired magazine scenarios issue. Danny reasoned that by actually building a remote monument, the discussions around long-term thinking would be far more focused, and it would lend itself to good storytelling and myth. Two key requirements of anything lasting a long time. read more

In 01996 a group of these friends led by Stewart Brand incorporated a non profit organisation around the idea of long term thinking and responsibility. This group became the founding board of The Long Now Foundation. One of the members, Peter Schwartz, suggested that 10,000 years be the time frame, as it was about how long humans have had a stable climate and technological progression.

In 1997 the Foundation held a design meeting around the 10,000 Year Clock idea where Danny presented his prototype of a binary mechanical computer. It was at this meeting the Foundation got its name from a Brian Eno, and its first employee Alexander Rose.

With a sponsor for the first prototype and a new project manager, Danny Hillis began to design the first prototype of the 10,000 Year Clock. This prototype was completed in 01999 on new years eve where it bonged very slowly... twice. This prototype is now at the Science Museum in London in the Making of the Modern World exhibit.

The next project undertaken was an orrery, (a planet tracking display), using the same mechanical computer. This project was completed in 2005.

The Foundation is now looking to scale up the designs with lessons learned from these first two efforts into a monument sized version. It has purchased high desert mountain top property in eastern Nevada as the site for the public 10,000 Year Clock. This experience and the mechanisms that would be used in this large scale version are being designed. There is no projected completion date, it is an ongoing program.

Visit The Long Now Foundation at http://www.longnow.org hide this.

The Corpus Clock

The Corpus ClockThey call it the time eater. With every snap of its fearsome jaws, sting of the tail and release of the claws, it devours another second. Today an extraordinary new type of clock was unveiled at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge by Professor Stephen Hawking. This gold-encrusted monster - part grasshopper and part locust - advancing around the golden disc to measure the passage of time cost over £1 million to make and seven years to build.  read more

Unlike conventional clocks, the Corpus Clock does not use hands or digital numbers. Instead it uses a series of 60 slits cut into the face, each six degrees apart, which light up to show the time. The seconds are counted down by each step of the mechanical insect which crawls around the disc edged like a lizard's spine. Its movement triggers blue flashing lights that dart across the clock-face, running in concentric circles to mark passing seconds before pausing at the correct hour and minute... Another quirky feature is the eerie sound of a chain dropping into a wooden coffin hidden behind the clock on the hour, which is intended to be a reminder of human mortality.

View a YouTube video of John Taylor, creator and funder of the clock, talking about it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHO1JTNPPOU  hide this.