A candle clock is a thin candle with consistently spaced marking that, when burned, indicates the passage of periods of time. While no longer used today, candle clocks provided an effective way to tell time indoors, at night, or on a cloudy day.
A candle clock is a thin candle with consistently spaced marking that, when burned, indicates the passage of periods of time. While no longer used today, candle clocks provided an effective way to tell time indoors, at night, or on a cloudy day.
It is unknown where and when candle clocks were first used. The earliest reference to their use occurs in a Chinese poem by You Jiangu (AD 520). [1] Here, the graduated candle supplied a means of determining time at night. Similar candles were used in Japan until the early 10th century.
You Jiangu's device consisted of six candles made from 72 pennyweights (24 grains each), of wax, each being 12 inches high, of uniform thickness, and divided into 12 sections each of one inch. Each candle burned away completely in four hours, making each marking 20 minutes. The candles were placed for protection inside cases made of a wooden frame with transparent horn panels in the sides. [2]
Similar methods of measuring time were used in medieval churches.[ citation needed ] The invention of the candle clock was attributed by the Anglo-Saxons to Alfred the Great, king of Wessex. The story of how the clock was created was narrated by Asser, who lived at Alfred's court and became his close associate. [3] Alfred used six candles, each made from 12 pennyweights of wax, and made to be 12 inches (30 cm) high and of a uniform thickness. The candles were marked at intervals of an inch. Once lit, they were protected from the wind by being placed in a lantern made of wood and transparent horn. It would have taken 20 minutes to burn down to the next mark; the candles, burning one after the other, lasted for 24 hours. [4]
The most sophisticated candle clock known to date, however, was that of Al-Jazari in 1206. [5] It included a dial to display the time and, for the first time, employed a bayonet fitting, a fastening mechanism still used in modern times. [6] The English engineer and historian Donald Routledge Hill described one of al-Jazari's candle clocks as follows:
The candle, whose rate of burning was known, bore against the underside of the cap, and its wick passed through the hole. Wax collected in the indentation and could be removed periodically so that it did not interfere with steady burning. The bottom of the candle rested in a shallow-dish that had a ring on its side connected through pulleys to a counterweight. As the candle burned away, the weight pushed it upward at a constant speed. The automata were operated from the dish at the bottom of the candle. [5]
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units: the day, the lunar month, year and galactic year. Devices operating on several physical processes have been used over the millennia.
A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time.
The Falles is a traditional celebration held annually in commemoration of Saint Joseph in the city of Valencia, Spain. The five main days celebrated are from 15 to 19 March, while the Mascletà, a pyrotechnic spectacle of firecracker detonation and fireworks display, takes place every day from 1 to 19 March. The term Falles refers to both the celebration and the monuments burnt during the celebration. A number of towns in the Valencian Community have similar celebrations inspired by the original Falles de València celebration. The Falles festival was added to UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage of humanity list on 30 November 2016.
A Paschal candle is a large, white candle used in liturgies in Western Christianity. A new Paschal candle is blessed and lit every year at Easter, and is used throughout the Paschal season which is during Easter and then throughout the year on special occasions, such as baptisms and funerals.
A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth, which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic principle behind the operation of gears is analogous to the basic principle of levers. A gear may also be known informally as a cog. Geared devices can change the speed, torque, and direction of a power source. Gears of different sizes produce a change in torque, creating a mechanical advantage, through their gear ratio, and thus may be considered a simple machine. The rotational speeds, and the torques, of two meshing gears differ in proportion to their diameters. The teeth on the two meshing gears all have the same shape.
Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be used as a simple deodorant or insect repellent.
Badīʿ az-Zaman Abu l-ʿIzz ibn Ismāʿīl ibn ar-Razāz al-Jazarī, IPA: [ældʒæzæriː]) was a Muslim polymath: a scholar, inventor, mechanical engineer, artisan, artist and mathematician from Artuqid Dynasty of Jazira in Mesopotamia. He is best known for writing The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices in 1206, where he described 50 mechanical devices, along with instructions on how to construct them. He is credited with the invention of the elephant clock. He has been described as the "father of robotics" and modern day engineering.
Ear candling, also called ear coning or thermal-auricular therapy, is a pseudoscientific alternative medicine practice claiming to improve general health and well-being by lighting one end of a hollow candle and placing the other end in the ear canal. Medical research has shown that the practice is both dangerous and ineffective and does not functionally remove earwax or toxicants, despite product design contributing to that impression.
A water clock or clepsydra is any timepiece by which time is measured by the regulated flow of liquid into or out from a vessel, and where the amount is then measured.
Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building. Some other buildings also have clock faces on their exterior but these structures serve other main functions.
In an explosive, pyrotechnic device, or military munition, a fuse is the part of the device that initiates function. In common usage, the word fuse is used indiscriminately. However, when being specific, the term fuse describes a simple pyrotechnic initiating device, like the cord on a firecracker whereas the term fuze is used when referring to a more sophisticated ignition device incorporating mechanical and/or electronic components, such as a proximity fuze for an M107 artillery shell, magnetic or acoustic fuze on a sea mine, spring-loaded grenade fuze, pencil detonator, or anti-handling device.
Wax play is a form of temperature play practiced in a BDSM context, in which wax from a candle is dripped onto a person's naked skin, in order to introduce a slight burning sensation to the skin.
Candle making was developed independently in many places throughout history.
A candle wick is usually a braided cotton that holds the flame of an oil lamp or candle. A candle wick works by capillary action, conveying ("wicking") the fuel to the flame. When the liquid fuel, typically melted candle wax, reaches the flame it then vaporizes and combusts. The candle wick influences how the candle burns. Important characteristics of the wick include diameter, stiffness, fire-resistance, and tethering.
The ceremonial use of lights occurs in liturgies of various Christian Churches, as well as in Jewish, Zoroastrian and Hindu rites and customs.
A tealight is a candle in a thin metal or plastic cup so that the candle can liquefy completely while lit. They are typically small, circular, usually wider than their height, and inexpensive. Tealights derive their name from their use in teapot warmers, but are also used as food warmers in general, e.g. fondue.
A candle warmer is an electric warmer that melts a candle or scented wax to release its scent. The candle warmer shown is intended to be used with jar candles or candles in cups, not with taper candles or candles without containers large enough to accommodate all the melted wax. Some candle warmers have a built-in bowl in which the candle is placed.
The elephant clock was a medieval invention by Ismail al-Jazari (1136–1206), an engineer and inventor of various clocks. The device consisted of a weight powered water clock in the form of an Asian elephant. The various elements of the clock are in the housing (howdah) on top of the elephant. In China a clock escapement mechanism was invented by the polymath Buddhist monk Yi Xing. Hydraulically powered waterwheels and water clocks were also used in the mechanically driven and rotated equatorial armillary sphere of Zhang Heng and Ma Jun. The elephant clock had some design differences compared to earlier waterclocks.
The history of timekeeping devices dates back to when ancient civilizations first observed astronomical bodies as they moved across the sky. Devices and methods for keeping time have since then improved through a long series of new inventions and ideas. Sundials and water clocks originated from ancient Egypt, and were later used by the Babylonians, the Greeks and the Chinese; medieval Islamic water clocks were unrivalled in their sophistication until the mid-14th century. Incense clocks, which may have been invented in India, were being used in China by the 6th century. The hourglass, one of the few reliable methods of measuring time at sea, was a European invention and does not seem to have been used in China before the mid-16th century.