I was at the unveiling of the new £1M "Corpus Clock" in Cambridge
today. It is rightly dubbed "The Strangest clock on Earth", having no
hands and no numbers, and a huge, ferocious grasshopper cum locust
which literally "eats time" - a good if fairly terrifying reminder to
use our time well!

This nightmare insect has been termed a "Chronophage",
which "hypnotises the watcher with its perpetual motion, punctuated by an
extraordinary repertoire of slow blinks, jaw-snaps and stings from its tail","
says the inventor, horologist Dr. Taylor, who became rich and famous by
inventing the thermostat mechanism that connects/disconnects your cordless jug
kettle to its base.

His inventions, we were told today, are used by over 100 billion people all over
the world, no wonder he can afford to blow £1M and 5 years of his life on this
amazing clock. The guy is clearly a genius!

The clock is based on an 18th century prototype by an earlier genius
inventor. This 21st century update has a series of slits cut into the
face, each a tenth of a degree across, to record the passage of time
via blue LED lights arranged behind the slits and 60 quarter inch
lenses, so that when the escape wheel moves, a series of rapidly
darting lights runs in concentric circles to mark passing seconds, and pause at
the correct hour and minute.

What appears to be lights flashing in sequence are actually controlled
mechanically, using the same principle as a zoetrope, the old fashioned way to
view a moving image through slits. The total wattage used by the clock is less
than that of three 60 watt bulbs.

Its massive round face, nearly five feet in diameter, was engineered
from a single sheet of stainless steel, the mouldings - like a series
of waves rippling outwards - were blasted into place by precisely-
controlled explosions under water. On the hour, a chain drops into a
wooden coffin hidden behind the clock "to remind us of our mortality!".

The clock also plays tricks on the observer, seeming occasionally to
pause, run unevenly and even go backwards. All this is achieved through
mechanics rather than computer programming.

If you haven't seen the clock, there are photos and more details here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/09/14/scihawking114.\
xml

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1058317/Strangest-clock-Earth--1m\
-timepiece-hands-numbers-unveiled-Stephen-Hawking.html

Best of all, go and see it working live! It is located on King's
Parade, in what was until recently the entrance to the Natwest bank at the
corner of King's Parade and Bene't Street.

Mike