Time is one of the most difficult categories to understand in philosophy and physics. It is most simply defined as a necessary condition for the possibility of any change. People already at the dawn of their history realized the need to somehow determine the course of time. At first, only fairly large intervals were measured: a year, a month, a day. Drop by drop, people noticed the running away of time by sunrises and sunsets, the change of seasons, and their own aging. Gradually, the need to define shorter intervals became apparent. Hours, minutes, seconds appear. With the complication of human activity, the methods of measuring time were also improved. Each interval began to acquire more and more precise meaning. An atomic and ephemeral second, an astronomical hour arose ("How much is this?" - you ask. The answer is just below). Today, the focus of our attention is the hour, the most commonly used unit of time in everyday life, as well as the clock, without which it is difficult to imaginemodern world.
A bit of history
It is easy to see that time calculation is fundamentally different from the method of calculation accepted today. It is based on the duodecimal system, which was used by the Sumerians in ancient times. The division of the hour into minutes is also rooted in time. It is based on the sexagesimal number system, also invented in the Tigris and Euphrates valley.
The Egyptians were the first to divide the day into 24 hours. The hour then had a different duration depending on the season and whether it belonged to the night or the day. The Egyptians and Babylonians divided the day into two equal parts. Day and night, that is, dark and light time, included 12 hours each. Accordingly, the length of the hour changed in each half depending on the season.
Similar systems existed in Greece and Rome. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the day was divided according to church services.
The Greeks were the first to use the term "hour". Variable lengths of time spans have persisted throughout the world for quite some time. In our country in the 16th-17th centuries, the duration of the hour was constant, but the number of hours changed day and night depending on the season. In Russia, they began to measure time similarly to Europe after 1722.
Astronomical hour - what is it?
The word "hour" is often used to refer to periods of time of various lengths, close to 60 minutes. Everyone knows what, for example, a quiet or curfew is. The periods of time denoted by these and similar concepts can last the usual 60 minutes, a little less, ora little more or designate not an interval, but a specific moment of the day, after which one process should end and a new one should begin.
And an astronomical hour is how many minutes? This concept denotes a standard period of time, a fixed duration. It is the astronomical hour that is equal to 60 minutes or 3600 seconds and is most often referred to simply as "hour". This unit of time is not included in the modern metric system SI (International System of Units of Physical Quantities). One of the reasons is that the hour does not belong to the decimal reckoning that is customary today. However, it is actively used all over the world along with the accepted SI units.
How long is the lesson?
Academic and astronomical hours are different concepts. The first term refers to the period of time during which the lesson lasts. Its value is not the same for different age groups. When working with children in kindergartens, educators shorten the duration of the academic hour to 20-30 minutes; in the year before graduation, it sometimes increases to 40 minutes. In schools, lessons are 40-45 minutes, couples at the university - 90 minutes. The reason for these differences is the ability to concentrate. It increases with age. If classes of 45 minutes are introduced in kindergarten, and 90 minutes each at school, students will get very tired and are unlikely to remember and learn the material in the required volume.
Measuring minutes
Time in our minds is inextricably linked with the mechanisms by which we notice its running. The clock appeared at the same time when people first felt the need to somehow measure intervals shorter than a day. Accuratethe date of their occurrence is now impossible to know - it was so long ago. The first copies measured time by noting the movement of the Sun across the sky, and with the help of running water. Also, sand and fire were used as the basis of the clock.
With the improvement of knowledge and the increase in the pace of life, more and more accurate designs were required. Sand, fire and water clocks were refined and complicated, then they were replaced by mechanical time meters.
Gears, spring and pendulum
The oldest mechanical clock was found at the bottom of the sea near the island of Antikythera. They date back to 100 BC. The Antikythera astronomical clock is unique: it has a rather complex design and has no analogues in the culture of the Hellenes. The mechanism, according to several reconstructions undertaken, consisted of 32 gears. The clock showed the change of days, the movement of the Sun and the Moon. The signs of the zodiac were depicted on the dial. It is possible that the design was also capable of simulating the movement of Venus, Mars, Mercury and Jupiter through the sky.
An escapement clock first appeared in China in 725. A little later, in 1000, a pendulum began to be used in Germany. The first clock tower in Western Europe was built in Westminter in 1288.
Mechanisms that measure time became more and more accurate. Making them required a lot of skill. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in Europe, the most striking beauty and subtlety of the work of astronomical clocks were created, which todaythe whole world admires.
Masterpiece from Lyon
The oldest working astronomical clock in France adorns the cathedral in Saint-Jean (Lyon). They were created in the XIV century, destroyed, then restored from 1572 to 1600, decorated with baroque decor in 1655. Initially, like all watches of this era, they were equipped with only an hour hand. The minute dial was installed only in the 18th century.
Besides time, looking at the astronomical clock of Lyon, anyone can find out the date, the position in the sky of the two main luminaries, the Moon and the Sun. The mechanism also shows when the brightest stars rise above the city. During the day, the clock strikes four times (at 12, 14, 15, 16 hours). At the top of the structure are pupae that begin to move during the ringing.
Pride of Prague
The Orloj astronomical clock, located on the tower of the town hall in Prague, is famous all over the world. Their history can be called dramatic. Created by Orla was more than 600 years ago, in 1402, earned a little later - in 1410. Astronomer Jan Schindel and craftsman Mikulash from Kadan are considered to be the "fathers" of watches.
The decoration of the city hall had to be repaired several times. In 1490, Hanush from Ruže made changes to the mechanism and, according to legend, was blinded by order of the Prague authorities so that he could not repeat what he had created again. At the same time, the clock was decorated with allegorical figures and equipped with calendar disks.
New significant design changes occurred in 1865. Then Josef Manes added an eagle with a calendar dial with medallions decorated with symbolic images of the months, signs of the zodiac. The Golden Cockerel, which appears after the completion of the movement of the figures, appeared on the clock in 1882.
Orloy today
Prague clock amaze not only with its beauty, but also with the virtuosity of the work of the masters who created them. Orloi shows the Old Bohemian, Babylonian, Starry, Italian and, of course, the "present" time. By the clock you can find out the date, the position of the Earth and the signs of the zodiac. They celebrate the rising and setting of the Sun and the Moon. Every hour, the figures decorating the eagle begin to move, they talk about human vices, remind of the eternal.
Strasbourg Cathedral Clock
The astronomical clock of Strasbourg Cathedral was finally completed in 1857. Their predecessors were installed in 1354 and 1574. The uniqueness of the watch is in its ability to calculate the dates of passing church holidays, as well as a mechanism that shows the precession of the earth's axis. Its full rotation is completed in more than 25 thousand years. The Strasbourg clock shows local and solar time, the orbits of the Earth, the Moon and the planet from Mercury to Saturn.
This is not a complete list of masterpieces decorating different cities around the world. Even 1 astronomical hour (the one that is equal to 60 minutes) will not contain a description of all the subtleties of the mechanisms and delightful decorations of suchcreations. However, this is not necessary - such masterpieces, embodying a fusion of knowledge, skill, mathematical calculation and creative inspiration, are best seen with your own eyes.
