Abstract
According to literature, the first mechanical clock appeared in the middle of the fourteenth century. For more than 600 years, it had been worked on by many people, including Galileo, Hooke and Huygens. Needless to say, there have been many ingenious inventions that transcend time. This chapter gives a virtual tour of the development of mechanical watch and clock.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Cecil Cluttoh and George Daniels (1979) Watches: a complete history of the technology and development of the watch, 3rd edition, Sotheby Parke Bernet Publishers Limited, London
Donald de Carle (1984) Watch & Clock Encyclopedia. Random House Value Publishing, New York
Eric Bruton (2004) The History of Clocks & Watches. Chartwell Books
George Daniels (1981) Watchmaking, Philip Wilson Publishers Limited, New York
George Daniels (2011) The Practical Watch Escapement, Philip Wilson Publishers Limited, New York
Institute of Precision Engineering, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2008) Verge Escapement. http://www.ipe.cuhk.edu.hk/projects10_vl=7English.html. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Institute of Precision Engineering, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2011) Virtual library of mechanical watch and clock. Available at http://www.ipe.cuhk.edu.hk/projects10_library.html. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Ludwig Oechslin (2004) Escapement for a Timekeeper. US Patent 6,708,576 B2, March 2004
Mark V. Headrick. Clock and watch escapement mechanics, Abbey Clock Clinic, Available at http://www.abbeyclock.com/tframed.html.
Ozdoba C (2011) A brief history of precision timekeeping—Part2: the 18th century. Available at: http://www.ozdoba.net/swisswatch/history_part2.html. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Tam LC, Fu Y, Du R (2007) Virtual library of mechanical watch movements. CAD Solutions, Honolulu, 25–29
Taqi al-Din Ibn Maruf (1550) The Brightest Stars for the Construction of Mechanical Clocks, about 1550. Available at http://www.enotes.com/topic/Taqi_al-Din_Muhammad_ibn_Ma'ruf
Timebooth (2011) Ludwig Oechlin. http://www.timebooth.com/watchmakers/38/. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Volker Vyskocil (2012) http://www.clockwatch.de/
Wikipedia (2001a) Galileo Galilei. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Wikipedia (2001b) John Harrison. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harrison. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Wikipedia (2001c) John Harrison. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harrison#The_first_three_marine_timekeepers. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Wikipedia (2002a) Robert Hooke. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hooke. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Wikipedia (2002b) Christiaan Huygens. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiaan_Huygens. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Wikipedia (2004a) Piazza dei Miracoli. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisa_Cathedral#Duomo. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Wikipedia (2004b) Verge escapement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verge_escapement. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Wikipedia (2004c) Anchor escapement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor_escapement. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Wikipedia (2004d) George Graham. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Graham_(clockmaker). Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Wikipedia (2004e) Grasshopper Escapement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasshopper_escapement. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Wikipedia (2004f) Escapement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escapement#Detent_escapement. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Wikipedia (2005) Thomas Earnshaw. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Earnshaw. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Wikipedia (2006) George Daniels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Daniels_(watchmaker). Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Wikipedia (2008) Corpus Clock. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Clock. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Wikipedia (2009) Pierre Le Roy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Le_Roy. Accessed 12 Dec 2011
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Du, R., Xie, L. (2013). A Brief Review of the Mechanics of Watch and Clock. In: The Mechanics of Mechanical Watches and Clocks. History of Mechanism and Machine Science, vol 21. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29308-5_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29308-5_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-29307-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-29308-5
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)