Measuring Time

Now, it's time for measuring time . . . miniature style. For this blog post, I created six different timekeeping devices, representing centuries of horological development. ("Horology" is my new word of the week. It refers to the art or science of making timepieces or measuring time.)

I'll start with the simple analog clock shown below, featuring a white button and a small printed clock face with Arabic numerals. 

Next is the digital clock with an LED (Light Emitting Diode) display. Using a red Sharpie marker, I inscribed the digit "5" three times in seven-segment font onto a tiny strip of paper, adding a colon between the first and second digits. Then, I inserted this strip into an empty matchbook.

For the sundial, I first cut two circles out of cardboard, one measuring 8.0 cm in diameter and the other 4.5 cm. Next, I painted the circles in pale green and purple, respectively. Once the paint was dry, I added Roman numerals to the green circle and cardinal directions to the purple one. Finally, I attached a toothpick to the center of the sundial using a hot glue gun. 

Here's the YouTube video I (mostly) followed:

Let's move on to timers. Hundreds, even thousands, of years before digital timers first appeared, people used candle clocks, water clocks, and hourglasses to keep track of the seconds, minutes, and hours of the day. The materials I used for my own miniature candle clock include a birthday candle, blue Sharpie marker, three straight pins, some glue, and a slate coaster covered in aluminum foil.    

As you can see in the video below, in addition to measuring time, candle clocks served as one of the earliest alarm clocks. 

The water clock consists of nothing more than a glass candle holder, the perforated lid of a salt shaker, and—you guessed it—some water.  

For a much more complicated version, check out the following:

Last but not least is the hourglass, made of two pill capsules, two pieces of black foam paper, a straight pin, and some superglue. Don't let its humble appearance fool you; this miniature decoration was by far the most challenging for me to make. 

I ran into a host of profanity-inducing complications, none of which are included in the video I followed. 

Most significantly, the superglue kept failing to hold the ends of the pill capsules together, so I finally improvised with the straight pin.  

For more information on horology, I highly recommend reading "How People Kept Time Before Clocks" and "The Development of Clocks and Watches Over Time."     

Until next time! 😉