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3000 BCE
1st clock: Sundial
Ancient civilizations measured the passage of time through the course of the day and lunar cycles. That is why, approximately 3000 years before Christ, the sundial or sun dial was invented, first used by the Egyptians and Chinese. Its operation is based on the shadow that a gnomon (triangular pointer) casts on a scale marked on the surface of the clock to indicate the position of the sun. -
1400 BCE
2nd clock: Clepsydra
The first type of clock in history was the Clepsydra or water clock, originated in Babylon in 1400 B.C. This clock measured time based on the movement of water from one container to another of the same size. -
1000
3th clock: Mechanical watch
Around the year 1000, mechanisms were invented in monasteries that helped monks accurately measure times for their prayers. The first mechanical clocks were powered by weights hung from cylinders and levers. Mechanical watches with hands that move slowly by the action of gears appeared around 1300. -
1393
4rd clock: The sand clock
It is not well known who invented it, but among the earliest records of it is a book from 1393 that offered instructions for preparing the sand for the clock. We still use it in board games or to measure the time of a shower. -
5th clock: Pendulum clock
Fue inventado en 1657 por el matemático holandés Christiaan Huygens y consiste en un mecanismo donde el movimiento oscilante de un péndulo activa los engranajes internos que hacen girar las manecillas del reloj. A partir de este, surgió un nuevo estándar en la precisión de los relojes. -
6th clock: Electric clock
In 1841 Alexander Bain built the first reliable clock operated by an electromagnet. The electricity generated by huge copper and zinc plates made the clock work. A principle that now allows us to have accurate electric clocks like the ones in the image below.