Monday, December 21, 2009

Mean Time Machine - The Corpus Clock & Chronophage

Invented and designed by Dr John Taylor for Corpus Christi College in Cambridge, this amazing clock cost £1 million to build. It was unveiled by Professor Stephen Hawkings and takes pride of place on the exterior of the college's new library building.

It uses the 'grasshopper' escapement, but instead of a grasshopper it features a Chronophage, a mean looking time eating creature that devours 60 seconds every minute. The clock's face is made from 1.5 metre stainless steel disk plated in 24 carat gold. There are no hands on this clock, the time is displayed by light shining through openings in three concrenttic rings in the clock face that display the hours, minutes and seconds.

If you are visiting Cambridge then seeing this clock is a must! For more information, visit the Corpus Clock Website or the entry on Wikipedia.


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