water clock
Drip-powered chronometer
A water clock is an ancient timekeeping device that measures time by the regulated flow of water into or out of a container.
Markings on the vessel indicate elapsed time as the water level changes.
Water clocks were among the earliest instruments for measuring time, used across civilizations from Egypt to China before mechanical clocks.
Measuring duration's passage
- sundialShadow-based timekeeper
- antiquityGreat age, ancient era
- horologyTimekeeping science and craft
- BabylonAncient Mesopotamian capital
Egypt · Greece · Rome · civilization · temples · pyramids · obelisk · Alexandria
Sixty-minute spans
- intervalsGaps between events
- durationLength of existence
- nocturnalActive during darkness
- nighttimeDark hours between dusk and dawn
court · speeches · ritual · ceremony · astronomy · calendar · scheduling · shifts
timekeeping
Measuring duration's passage
Babylon · Egypt · Greece · Rome · civilization · temples · pyramids · obelisk · Alexandria · Han dynasty
hours
Sixty-minute spans
nighttime · court · speeches · ritual · ceremony · astronomy · calendar · scheduling · shifts · watches
vessel
Receptacle for contents
outflow · inflow · siphon · regulator · graduated · markings · bowl · container · orifice · cylinder
drip
Liquid falling slowly
seepage · drainage · steady · rate · constant · regulated · measured · drops · leak · evaporation
- timekeepingwatch, watches, clocks, timer, calendar
- analog technologyanalog clocks, analog computers, film cameras, analog meter, turntable
- Pre-electric technologywaterwheel, windlass, pulley, plow, bellows
- timekeeping deviceswatch, timer, stopwatch, hourglass, egg timer
- timekeeping traditionssundial, hourglass, calendar, lunar calendar, solar calendar
- timepieceswristwatch, pocket watch, stopwatch, watch, sundial
water clockdigital clock
Timekeeper showing numerals
atomic clock · smartwatch · quartz clock · mechanical clock · digital watch
water, clock, waterfall, aquatic, clockwork, clockwise, timepiece, hydrology, water clocks