Welcome Guest ( Log In | Register )


Eua1
post 21 Oct 2008, 04:35 PM
Post #1


Lifetime commited
Group Icon

Group: Elite Members
Posts: 1981
Joined: 9-December 06
From: Σε δικο μου Σύμπαν
Member No.: 3623
Zodiac Sign: I'm a gemini!
Gender: I'm a f!




(287-212 B.C) ARCHIMEDES’ HYDRAULIC CLOCK



The problem of measurement of time was big in the antiquity: the Greeks separated the duration of day in twelve parts and found the duration of daily hour. However how it could be measured the evening hour, specifically when the duration of day-night was anisomeric and proportional the season? In this big problem the solution gave the hydraulic clock of Archimedes that could calculate the hours (daily and evening) with big precision. The error that it could make was the two minutes behind or front! This complicated ornament-mechanism, of 4 meters high, could inform for the change of each hour, it brought various decorations and as spring it used water.

Should be stressed the fact that the treatise of Archimedes clock has not been rescued in the prototype but its Arabic translation that was written approximately in the 9th century A.D. Arabic manuscripts of this treatise exists today in the libraries of Paris, London and Oxford. From them became a German translation, which was published in the records of the Academy of Natural philosophers of Al-Saal city (1918). This statement translated by Evagelos Stamatis and thus the lost work of Archimedes saw again the light in the language that was written. About how important is this work, the translator stresses the fact that it is the first hydraulic clock mechanism of history and from this came so much the Ironas’ automatics as much the automatic instruments of Byzantine throne.

“For the first time this treatise is included in a publication of Archimedes’ work. From the study of the german text we are convinced that the translation of Arabs is not the precise output of Archimedes’ text. Probably the Arabs translators, too, took over the greek text of the treatise in the byzantine language of that era. The Archimedes’ clock is not a type of hourglass, but mechanism of clock, where instead of the todays’ spring is used the flow of water. It is not known if there was an ancienter relevant automatic instrument, therefore, we consider that the automatic instruments of Ironos (1st century A.D) and the automatic instruments of the Byzantine palace have their beginning to the hydraulic clock of Archimedes.”

It is noteworthy that we owe the rescue, of many Greek works of antiquity that has been lost in their prototype, in the Arabs. Moreover the Arabian scientists were many times the continuers of the work of Greek engineers and technicians of all sciences.

The hydraulic Clock of Archimedes was recently rebuilded by Ioannis Sakkas in smaller size, supported in his description by the translation of Evagelos Stamati. Finally we should say that modern researchers of history and development of clocks, as Derek de Sola Prais, believe that inventor and constructor of this particular hydraulic clock was not Archimedes, because of the fact that in the arabic handwritten of the treatise there is also a reference to Filona and Irona. However and despite the objections has not been proposed other scientist of that period who could manufacture a similar mechanism.





Source : : Evagelos Stamati “Archimidous Answers”, volume C', pages 231-308
Arabic text, pages 342-379




THE LOST TREATISE:

It should be marked that the hydraulic clock, that is attributed to Archimedes, it has divided the scientists, some of them attribute it to the Syracousian engineer and some others support that it is invention of Filonas or Ironas, however it was attributed, by the Arabs copiers, to Archimedes. The hole subject in any case has been already clarified, after some recent studies and researches, although there are clues that consent to the both versions.
There are three references to the clock of Archimedes, that comes from Vitroubios (1st century B.C), Pappo the Alexandrian (3rd century A.D) and a later arabic comment.

Vitroubios marks, among others:
“Such men, on the contrary, are not rare, among them are counted Aristarchos the Samios, Filolaos and Architas the Tarantian, Apollonios the Pergaios, Eratosthenis the Kyrinaian, Archimedes and Skopinas the Syrakosian, from them, the last ones invented, explained and handed over to their laters many mechanic manufactures, as also clocks that their calculations was in accordance with the laws of nature…”

Pappos reports:
"The old ones were calling the engineers and the repairers of things of worthy admiration, from them, some made their mechanisms by the use of gases, as Iron in his “Intellectual” (Πνευματικά), others via strings and ropes they appear that they imitate movements of the livings, as Iron with his automatic instruments and the levers, and others via the flow of the water, as Archimedes to his hydrostatic or the hydraulic clocks, as Iron to the via the flow of water instruments, which appeared to be supported by scientific basis too. Also called engineers and knowing how to manufacture planetariums, with which they manufactured images of the sky via the smooth and circular flow of the water. The theory of all these, some people, said that it was invented by the Syrakousian Archimedes because only he, invented various practical and theoretical things, as the mathematician Geminos says too, in his book about the classification of the mathematics. Karpos from Antiocheia says somewhere that Archimedes the Syrakousian wrote only one book related to mechanic, which is the “How make spheres?” and that for all the others he never wrote something. For many people was glorified for his mechanic and was rendered as genius the magnificent one, so that he is, constantly and to excess, celebrating by all, that from the previously reported, that requires scientific, geometric and numerical theory and that which are considered as of very little importance he wrote about (who appears to had loved the sciences so much) because he wasn’t accepting the use of any practical apart from these…”

Finally the arabic comment, reports (writes the engineer Filon the Byzantios):
“Archimedes said: (My dear Ariston), I wish to explain to you how are manufactured the hydraulic clocks”

From the above three appositions we can say that the one Bitroubios does not clarify what precisely were the orologian manufactures that reports, the other Pappos, he just copy what Gemino wrote. The reference to the Karpos (who spoke about Archimedes) is indirect and it cannot be checked. Also Pappos is 600 years far from the fact, therefore his testimony is checked as generally speaking. Remains the reference to the arabic comment, that rather is completely of secondary importance.

First, the baron Carra de Vaux in 1891 said there was an arabic handwritten with description of an hydraulic clock that is attributed in Archimedes. It concerns the manuscript “Kitab Arshimidas Fi' amal al binkamat” (“the Archimedes’ book about the manufacture of the hydraulic clocks”). Much more later in 1918 the E. Wiederman and F. Hauser published a German translation of the manuscript by the mean of two manuscripts, one from Paris and one from London, plus an extract from Oxford. In the preface they stressed that apart from the clock of Archimedes are reported two other appliances too, while in the preface they also marked that it has to do with a clock that is attributed to Archimedes


Source :
Pappus, Alex. Collec. ed. Hultsch, p. 1024, 24 [A].[A], volume A, part a΄, 52-55, ancient and new text
Journal Asiatique 1891:8, ser. 17:287, 599



--------------------
Go to the top of the page
 
Bookmark this: Post to Del.icio.usPost to DiggPost to FacebookPost to GooglePost to SlashdotPost to StumbleUponPost to TechnoratiPost to YahooMyWeb
+Quote Post

Posts in this topic
Eua1   ARCHIMEDES’ HYDRAULIC CLOCK   21 Oct 2008, 04:35 PM
Eua1   The conciseness of my text is owed to the fact tha...   26 Oct 2008, 01:32 PM
XRUSA   Good job....   30 Oct 2008, 08:15 AM


Reply to this topicStart new topic
1 User(s) are reading this topic (1 Guests and 0 Anonymous Users)
0 Members:

 

RSS Lo-Fi Version Time is now: 12th July 2025 - 12:23 AM
Skin and Graphics by Dan Ellis and Anubis. Hosting by Forums & More © 2005-2011.
InvisionGames - Your #1 Arcade Games Repository | AllSigs - Signatures for all | Rock Band + Guitar Hero = RockHero ! | The Remoters - Remote Assistance | FileMiners - You ask, We find