Candle Clocks

This model presents a step forward in the history of time measurement that was candles. Marked candles were used for telling the time in China since the sixth century. The rate of burning is subject to draughts and the variable quality of the wax. The height and width of the candle are fixed accordingly, so that it may be able to accurately show the passage of the required duration of time. Like oil lamps, candles were used to mark the passage of time from one event to another, rather than tell the time of the day. A candle clock could be easily transformed into a timer by sticking a heavy nail into the candle at the mark indicating the desired interval. When the wax surrounding the nail melts, the nail clatters onto the plate below, giving a sound signal that the time interval had passed.