What Are The Instruments Used To Measure Time

Measurement Of Time

In the beginning, people used calendars to keep a track of years, which were divided into months and days (not exactly what we use today, but something similar). Later, people started keeping track of the time of the day. They started building various instruments to divide the day into smaller parts. An instrument used to measure time is called a clock.

People used instruments such as sundials and hourglass to keep track of time. The movement of the shadow of a rod stuck upright in the ground, whose shadow changed direction with the movement of the sun across the sky, was used to make crude sundials. An hourglass consisted of two rounded glass bulbs connected by a narrow neck of glass. The top bulb was filled with sand and a measured amount of sand particles streamed down from the top bulb into the bottom bulb, giving the time. An instrument known as water clock was also used in different parts of the world. It worked on the principle of regulated flow of water.

These devices were not very accurate and there was a need to improve accuracy and devise instruments that gave a better measurement of time. A major breakthrough came in 1656, when Christiaan Huygens made the first pendulum clock. It consisted of weights and a swinging pendulum. These clocks were much more reliable than the earlier ones. Another major advancement in timekeeping was the invention of the atomic clock, which is very accurate.

Today, clocks do not just tell us the time of the day; they are also used as timers in ovens, in stopwatches, in various athletic events, etc. The SI unit of time is the second. Some other units are given in Table.