Archimedes' Water Clock: Ancient Invention Led to Study of Hydraulics

Archimedes is most commonly remembered as one of the world's greatest mathematicians, especially in regards to the ancient world. He is by far one of the greater minds of his time and is not replaced until possibly even Newton's birth into European history. He wrote a large amount of books, most of which were lost during the burning of the Library of Alexandria, a tragic event that lost more than just the work of Archimedes. Almost all of Archimedes' work on hydraulics was lost; however, several of these books escaped the fires, which were later translated into Arabic. These texts provide historians with an interesting insight into one of his greatest inventions, the water clock.[1]

The ancient Greeks could calculate the daylight quite easily with the aiding of the sun and the adequate reading of its position; but the problem of how to tell time at night remained a problem until Archimedes came along. He devised a four meter high object that allowed a constant drip of water, which is legend to have come from a leak in his roof at his parents' home (this is highly skeptical as there is no proof to support this).[2]

With a constant flow of water, Archimedes could effectively measure the time by measuring how much water had dripped into a bowl, which was labeled with etchings during the day when time could be measured adequately. These etched labels would provide hour markers in the bowl. With these markings, it would be possible to gain accuracy within two minutes, an amazing achievement for the time period at which Archimedes lived. His new invention opened a whole new area of science, hydraulics.[3]

Later, it is unclear who, additions were made to Archimedes design. Because of the fire of Alexandria it is unknown rather another person increased the usefulness of Archimedes' design; but, what is clear is that it was changed several years after its birth in the ancient world. The additions would provide a constant flow of water to be poured into the bowl by a canal dug from a nearby stream. This allowed a person to keep time without having to refill the jar on the top of the device that slowly dropped the water into the bowl. In case the jar at the top of the device was overfilled at some point due to a rush of water there was a device that would catch the excess water and roll it off into a secondary bowl that did not measure time.[4]

This invention by Archimedes revolutionized the ancient world. It is appropriate to pay him great respect for his invention that changed the way ancient cultures kept time without the sun. It was effective both during the night and day and it provided the learned men with a new area to study, hydraulics.

Sources:

Dr. Maxwell Colins was a professor of mine in history. He is very knowledgeable in ancient Greece and Rome with a concentration in the city of Alexandria. The sources are from his book on The Water Clock (I'm not sure if it is still in publication). The pages are below.

[1] The Water Clock, Dr. Colins 192

[2] The Water Clock, Dr. Colins 194

[3] The Water Clock, Dr. Colins 121

[4] The Water Clock, Dr. Colins 82