Abstract
THE most ancient instruments for measuring time were probably some kind of sundial. Some-thing of the kind is, no doubt, referred to in 2 Kings xx. and Isaiah xxxviii., where it is stated that the shadow moved back ten steps on the steps of Ahaz (for that is the literal translation). Hero dotus (“Euterpe,” cix.) tells us that the Babylonians introduced to the Greeks the πόλος and the γυώµου, no doubt some forms of sun-instruments. Frequent allusions are found in the classics to the clepsydra, which was made in various forms, always depending, however, upon the approximately uniform flow of water through a small hole.
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Clock Escapements 1 . Nature 103, 155–158 (1919). https://doi.org/10.1038/103155b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/103155b0