AlarmBuzz

Menu
  • Tools
    • Sleep Cycles
    • Time Zone Abbreviations – Worldwide List
    • Personal World Clock
    • Time Zone Converter
    • The World Clock – Worldwide
    • Time Zone Difference
    • Calculate Duration Between Two Dates
    • Date Calculator
    • Business Days Calculator
    • Business Date Calculator
    • Fun Time Tool
    • Online Countdown Timer
    • Online Alarm Clock
    • My Life Graph
    • Online Stopwatch Timer
  • Time Blog
  • Sleep Blog
  • Travel Blog
  • World Holidays
  • Fatigue
  • Sleep Related Shopping
  • Blog

Evolution of the Digital Clock

Evolution-of-the-Digital-Clock

When you think of the word “digital” we typically think of computers and data and graphics that are all driven off of data stored in 1 and 0 digits.  A digital clock is a type of clock that displays the time in numerals (digits) versus based on the positions of rotating mechanical hands.  The digital part doesn’t relate to the power/drive mechanism or how the clock is derives the current time.

Most digital clocks typically use the 50 or 60 hertz oscillation of AC power or a 32,768 hertz crystal oscillator as in a quartz clock to keep time.  This is the mechanism that is used to drive the tracking and passing of time for the clock display.  So instead of pulleys and weights or springs and other mechanisms its based on a repeatable physical phenomena that his highly accurate.
Jump-HoursThe first digital pocket watch was invented way back in 1883 by an engineer by the name of Josef Pallweber who was an Austrian.  He came up with the idea of having two dials that showed digits based on rotating discs.  This movement was called “Jump-Hours” as the digits would jump.  The technology eventually found its way to wrist watches and can still be found in watches today.

digital-clockA similar digital approach that was a “flip clock” was the plato clocks (the timeframe was early 1900s not back in Plato’s day)  These clocks were spring wound and as the spring unwound the cards would flip to show the current time.  The clocks were introduced at the St. Louis World Fair in 1904 by the Ansonia Clock Company.

 

From a patent stand point the first digital clock patent was approved in 1956 for D.E. Protzmann in the United States.  They had another patent in 1970 as well.  The use of electricity and small motors were an integral part of the timing mechanism.

multi-function wrist watchesAround this same time the first digital watches with an actual LED display became widely available.  The Pulsar was a major breakthrough and very expensive.  It also gained a strong following and the digital watch age became very popular through many popular brands and even eventually included the infamous calculator watches and other multi-function wrist watches.

Today we have time devices that are driven by digital data.  If you boot up a computer or even start up  your car its reaching out over the network to find out the current time.  For major computer networks the NTP (Network Time Protocol) is used to synch all computer clocks.  At the heart of this protocol synchronizations are done with highly accurate atomic clocks and similar devices that are extremely accurate.

The clocks we have on our computers have the ability to display digitally (with numbers) or to visually have the old time positionally based format.  Depending on your mood for the day you can pick a clock display for your computer.  Now you know the history of what we all see every day on our wrist, in our hand and on our desk.

Share
Tweet
Email
Prev Article
Next Article

Related Articles

How Does Olympic Timing Work
When you think of the Olympic race where the sprinters …

How Does Olympic Timing Work?

Online Alarm Clocks and Timers Can be Very Useful Tools
It wasn’t so long ago in human history where having …

Online Alarm Clocks and Timers Can be Very Useful Tools



  • How To Improve Your Nights Rest
    How To Improve Your Nights Rest
    Good sleep has a direct effect on your health and your ability to perform well during the day. However, more people …
  • Devices to Help Fight Fatigue When Driving
    Devices to Help Fight Fatigue When Driving
    Fatigue is suspected to be a cause of more than 20% of road fatalities that usually occur during normal sleeping hours. …
  • Woman typing
    Tips on Writing for Global Audiences
    Majority of the people around the world use the internet to get different information. In fact, search engines like Google are …
  • Beautiful Weather
    5 Reasons People Love Vacationing in La …
    Article Content La Mesa, California is located just minutes from San Diego. This suburban area may be overshadowed by its more …

AlarmBuzz

Copyright © 2019 AlarmBuzz
Copyright 2019 Mentalitch.com
Contact Us | Our Sites
This website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Ad Blocker Detected

Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.

Refresh