[time-nuts] Leap Second Pending

[Chuck Harris]

d.seiter at comcast.net wrote:
> The mechanical
>> clepsydra shown overleaf is simple in operation. The cylindrical vessel is slowly filled with water and a float
>> with a stem and rack engages the wheel to which the hour hand is attached. As the vessel fills so the float rises
>> and the hour hand is made to rotate. When the vessel is full it is emtied (sic) and the process starts over again.
>> While this type of clock is spectacular and one would like to think it is of ancient origin, it has to be recorded
>> that no ancient example has been handed down to us.
> 
> Actually, if I'm visualizing this correctly, a similar design was built by the ancient Greeks. I recall a article in
> National Geographic about the "Tower of the Winds" (or similar).  The source of the water stream was a tank that
> constantly overflowed, maintaining constant water pressure.  There was little to go on as far as actual physical
> evidence, so maybe it was wishful thinking and has been debunked since?

DeCarle was an old guy in the 1960's.

What he is referring to is a picture in the encyclopedia of a clock that
has a float attached to a rack that drives a pinion attached to an hour
hand.  The water is directed into the tank, and as the tank fills, the
hour hand rotates indicating the time.  When the tank is full, a valve
is tripped letting the water out of the tank, and the cycle repeats.

He acknowledges that there were clepsydra's used in ancient cultures,
just not one as cool as the one shown in the picture.
> 
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