How to Build a Water Power Clock
Water clocks are one of the oldest ways to keep time known to man. Over the years many cultures have created water clocks of many different styles, including the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Chinese. These clocks can be very elaborate, and during the ancient times oftentimes were. Although there have been many variations of the water clock over the years, nearly all of them are based around the same principles and can be built quite quickly in the comfort of your own home.
Things You'll Need
- Beaker
- 2 liter plastic bottle
- Scissors or razor blade
- Ring stand
- Rubber stopper
- Rubber tubing
- Wax pencil
- Water
- Food coloring
- Stopwatch
Instructions
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1
Remove the bottom of a plastic two-liter bottle with a utility knife. Cut along the point
where the clear plastic of the upper portion of the bottle connects with the black plastic of the bottom piece. -
2
Draw a line around the outside of the bottom edge of the top half (clear portion) of the bottle.
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3
Remove the bottle cap by unscrewing it. Insert a rubber stopper in place of the bottle cap and feed rubber tubing through the hole in the rubber stopper.
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4
Insert the piece of the bottle with the rubber stopper on top of it into the ring stand bottom up.
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5
Pour water into the bottle all the way up to the line you drew in Step 2 and add some food coloring to the water.
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6
Release the clamp partially so that a steady drip of water begins to run into the beaker.
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7
Use your other hand to time with a stopwatch. Mark the water level on the outside
of the plastic every 10 minutes. -
8
Pour the water from the beaker into the plastic container in the ring stand and repeat Step 6. This time mark the water level every five minutes with the wax pencil.
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References
- Photo Credit clock 9 image by chrisharvey from Fotolia.com
