how did su song’s clock work? course hero

How did Su Song's clock work?

(Su Song's) clockwork, driven by a water-wheel, and fully enclosed within the tower, rotated an observational armillary sphere on the top platform and a celestial globe in the upper story.

What was su song's timely invention?

The Chinese, of course, had their own version of the water clock, and the Sung dynasty improved on it during the 11th century. Finally, in 1086, the emperor charged an official named Su-Sung to create what was to be the finest water clock up to that time.

Who was Su song and why was he important?

Su Song, orSu Sung, (born 1020, Fujian Province, China—died 1101, Kaifeng), Chinese scholar and administrative and financial expert in the imperial bureaucracy. His Illustrated Pharmacopoeia (1070) revealed his knowledge of drugs, zoology, metallurgy, and related technology.

What Song Dynasty invented clocks?

One high official, Su Song (1020-1101), is famous for having designed and constructed a mechanical clock tower (almost 40 feet high) by adding a chain-driven mechanism to the existing water-powered clock.

How does an ancient Chinese water clock work?

Since about 3000 b.c., the Chinese used water clocks to gauge the passage of time. Water clocks are also known as clepsydrae, the Greek word for "water thief." A simple water clock is an apparatus that slowly drips or runs water from a small hole in one vessel into another that is stationed below it.

How did the ancient Chinese mechanical clock work?

The internal mechanism was made of gold and bronze, and contained a network of wheels, hooks, pins, shafts, locks and rods. A bell chimed automatically on the hour, while a drumbeat marked each quarter-hour.

Why was the clock invented in China?

The mechanical clock was invented in China, in 976 A.D. during the Song Dynasty. Chan Ssu-Hsun built a clock using mercury. It was the first working mechanical clock. The importance of mechanical clocks is that they were made for telling time more accurately than water or sun clocks.

Who invented the first mechanical clock?

Mechanical water clocks. The first known geared clock was invented by the great mathematician, physicist, and engineer Archimedes during the 3rd century BC. Archimedes created his astronomical clock that was also a cuckoo clock with birds singing and moving every hour.

When was the mechanical clock invented?

The world's first mechanical clocks are thought to have been tower clocks built in the region spanning northern Italy to southern Germany from around 1270 to 1300 during the renaissance period. These clocks did not yet have dials or hands, but told the time by striking bells.

How was the clock invented in ancient China?

According to historical research, the world's first clock was invented by Yi Xing, a Buddhist monk and mathematician of the Tang Dynasty (618－907). Yi's clock operated with water steadily dripping on a wheel that made a full revolution every 24 hours.

How was the Chinese clock made?

An iron and bronze system of wheels, shafts, hooks, pins, locks, and interconnected rods made the clock work. This system caused the automatic chiming of a bell on the hour and the beating of a drum every quarter hour.

How was the mechanical clock made?

The first tower clocks were actuated by cogwheels pulled by a weight, whose force was regulated by a device called an escapement. However, beginning in the sixteenth century, clock-makers were able to replace the weight with springs and spindles or "conoids" that ensured the same regular movement.

When was Su-Sung's clock stolen?

Su-Sung's clock was stolen when invading Tatars put an end to the Sung dynasty in 1126. The Tatars weren't able to get it running again, and the high art of Chinese clock-making completely disappeared. But even before the Tatar invasion, Taoistic reformers had come into power.

Why was it hard for water clocks to do all these things?

But it was hard for water clocks to do all these things, because a float indicator riding on a water surface didn't exert enough force to drive a lot of extra machinery. Su-Sung got around that problem.

Why are clocks called W ater?

You might know them by their Greek name, clepsydra, which means "a stealer of water.". That's because all water clocks -- one way or another -- used a steady flow of water to measure time.

Did Su-Sung's clock work in the West?

They saw fancy clock-building as part of the older regime and did little to sustain it. Su-Sung's book on the operation of his clock didn't surface in the West until the 17th century. By then, of course, the Western mechanical clock was light-years ahead of it. But the West didn't always hold a monopoly on time-keeping.