-
3000 BCE
Egypt - Obelisk
Egyptians told time by the shadow cast by the sun on Obelisk -
2000 BCE
Greek and Egypt - Water clock (clepsydra)
Use the flow of water to measure time. -
1000 BCE
China - knot-burning and candles burning
Ancient Chinese tie knows at regular intervals on a thick rope, then burn the rope and tell time by looking at how many knots had been burned. Later they burn candles with notches to tell time. -
300 BCE
Babylon - sundial
Adapted from the idea of obelisk, the Babylonians attached a gnomon to the middle of the dial to show the sun's position. -
Jan 1, 1100
Europe - hourglass
Two upright containers joined with a narrow opening. One container contained sand or other material that shift easily.Turn the hourglass upside down so that the materials poured into the bottom container to tell time. -
Jan 1, 1300
Europe - Mechanical clocks
Use physics principles of weights and balances to mark out increments of time over a 12-hour period. -
Jan 1, 1400
Italy - Watch
Measures time through a system of coiled springs. It is built inside a metal ball with a lid, and the watch is placed in a picket or hung from a belt -
Digital watch
Powered with batteries and quartz crystal. Shows the time as numbers.
