Water Clock

The Water Clock is a unique work of art, one of only about 16 in the world created by artist Bernard Gitton. A French research physicist who decided to devote himself to technological art, he creates clocks, fountains, water computers, and, according to Gitton, other “machines to make 7- to 70-year-old children dream.”

 

Water clocks are officially known as clepsydras, or “water thieves,” and are an ancient method for telling time invented by Egyptians and perfected by the Assyrians. They measure time with the flow of water. The clock works through a series of siphons. Water is continually pumped into the long cylindrical tank at the top of the clock, where it slowly leaks into a cup below. The increasing weight in the cup causes the cup to dump into the siphon below every 2.2 seconds. From there, the liquid begins to fill the minute disks on the right of the clock and the hour spheres on the left. The clock empties twice a day, at 1 a.m. and 1 p.m.