History of Computers - Al-Jazari's Castle Clock
Contents
Intro
The Al-Jazari Castle Clock was a large water clock, used to keep track of the position of the sun, moon and other celestial bodies, invented by Badi'al-Zaman Abū al-'Izz ibn Ismā'īl ibn al-Razāz al-Jazarī, an Arab engineer and mathematician in 1206 C.E.[1]. The massive clock used the draining of water, weights, rope, and a complex pulley system to track the time of day.
Overview
The clock consists of a tube of water with a float attached to the string on top. The string turns multiple pulleys, causing the signs of the zodiac to rotate across the top, a crescent moon to move across the clock as the moon passes through the sky, falcons to drop balls in an urn every half hour, and musicians to play music every hour. Because the length of day and location of the moon change each day, the height of the water and the lengths of rope had to be re-calibrated every day to adjust to the time of year and lunar cycle. Because of its extremely accurate timing, complex pulley system, and ability to be re-programmed, Al-Jazari's water clock is considered one of the earliest forms of a programmable computer [2].
Significance
Al-Jazari's Castle clock was the most complex time-keeping device invented up to that time, and proved to be exceptionally accurate. The clock was one of the first programmable devices and helped introduce the idea of creating machines with adjustable responses depending upon a certain input.
Links
References
- ↑ [Hill, Donald Routledge (1984). A History of Engineering in Classical and Medieval Times, London: Croom Helm & La Salle Donald Routledge.].
- ↑ Ancient Discoveries..
