The Sustainable Clock

For this term, Time, we looked into how time can deceive us. Time is relative, according to Einstein, so we really looked into this aspect throughout this term. We dove deeper into the topics of time zones, gravitational waves, twin paradox/time dilation. The class was assigned to read one of three different books including Einstein's Dreams, E=mc^2, and A Brief History of Time. We went on an FE, the Adler Planetarium! We looked into time telling devices like sundials, chronometers, etc. For this AP, we were assigned to design our own time telling devices! I was inspired by the Umayyad Clock which is located in Damascus, Syria. Read more of my blog to learn more about the Sustainable Clock! 

Script for video:

Imagine a world where time wasn’t the only thing on our minds?  Imagine a world where time could help solve economic crises around the world. When time telling devices provide clean water in countries that need it the most.

“One in three people globally do not have access to safe drinking water”, according to the World Health Organization.

Let’s think about SDG 8, to Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all, “  Over 60 per cent of all workers lack any kind of employment contract” according to the International Labour Organization.

Water purification and global economy work hand in hand, and this time telling device has just taken one step further in bringing these two contrast issues closer together.

The idea goes way back to Umayyad civilization, (zoom into map) Damascus, Syria, 800 years ago the Umayyad Mosque was constructed including the Umayyad clock which was a mechanical time telling device that required two falcons to drop a copper ball through a vase each time the hour would pass. The pulley system was located in the center of the clock. This system required water in buckets in order to function because each time pulley was lifted up or down worked. The gears would shift inside of the device to mark the new hour throughout the city of Damascus. The problem that I found when looking into this device, is that they weren’t very mindful about their water usage, and would dunk the water instead of using it in communities in need. Due to the Syrian Civil war that has been going for about 10 years now, the Umayyad mosque has been destroyed.

Time plays a key role in society today, but it also matters about the way that we cherish it. We spend too much of our time not being present, distracted by devices an inch away from us, and more. Why not create a time telling device where time can be used efficiently. Now telling what hour it is rather than being distracted by minutes and seconds only to find out that another hour is about to pass and you still haven’t used your time productively. The sustainable clock does just that. Inspired by the Umayyad clock, displaying only the hour of the day, while using a pulley system that requires contaminated water in order to function. The water gets purified for an hour through a system in the interior of the time telling device, hour passes, the pulley system goes back to its original system, water gets evacuated, while the gears shift the hour being displayed throughout the town. A person manually takes the purified water to a manufacturing warehouse where other members of the community package the water, and the bottles get distributed into the hand of the public.

This is a system that is bound to change current global economic systemic issues by sparking job opportunities for communities in need around the world. Jobs that will become necessary in order for this time telling device to function properly are employees who can get the contaminated water from local water systems, employees who can change out the water once purified, employees making sure the gears are functioning properly, manufacturers who are distributing purified water into bottles, and employees getting these bottles out to members of community. The device can change the way we purify water around the globe, while also being mindful of the way we interpret time. Time is precious, use it wisely. Most importantly, think about a future where a community can come together due to time.

Here is a link to my video! 

Five original visuals of Sustainable Clock:

The idea started with a similar concept as the Umayyad clock. This two leveled clock that used gears in order to change the hour using a pulley system. I knew that somehow throughout my time telling device concept, I wanted to add a pulley system using water. 

NB. Design 1 of Sustainable Clock. 2020

This idea sparked once I knew that I wanted this time telling device to purify water. Throughout the clock, are tubes that allow the water to circulate while the hour passes, and purify the contaminated water. 

NB. Design 4 of Sustainable Clock. 2020

In order to incorporate the new pulley system, I decided to make this system start at the center of the clock, the gears would function in the interior of the clock, while the pulley system goes up or down. The lighting is added where the new hour is being displayed in order for the community to also see the hour, and follow that time zone.

NB. Design 3 of Sustainable Clock. 2020

Here, I show what my official Sustainable Clock would look like. Here, I display the tubes running throughout the clock, the pulley system located in the center of the clock, exits and entryways for water to pass through, and most importantly, how time is displayed throughout the town!

NB. Design 5 of Sustainable Clock. 2020

Calculations:

NB. Arc Length. 2020

NB. Volume of clock. 2020

Conclusion

To conclude, this term allowed me to think more about time on a philosophical level, and see time in a different light. This is why I designed the sustainable clock. Especially nowadays, our main focus is put on things that distract us or harm us, rather than educate us and allows us to use our time productively. I think something that plays a key role in that is that the fact seeing when the hour is about to end can put us in this funk that leads to not be productive. This device will keep people on their toes, and make sure that they use their time efficiently, while also creating job opportunities for people within communities in need. 

HOLY DIDDLEY BOW!

For this unit, Sound, in our STEAM course Light, Sound, and Time we explored the way that sound is not only produced, but how we interpret sound. Sound can deceive us depending on the way that we interpret it. We looked into the anatomy of the ear including how the pinna gets funneled into the eardrum to the three small bones called, the ossicles, to the cochlea which transfers sound to our brain.  We also had the opportunity to visit the Chicago Hearing Society where we were able to speak to some people who were deaf, we were able to ask them questions, etc. This was a nice opportunity for us to be able to look at the world in a different lens once we realized the challenges that came along with living in a society that is not accepting to marginalized communities. We also had a guest come in who was a sound therapist. She was able to give us a performance using different instruments that allowed us to not only calm us down, but also applied science. The doppler effect was phenomenon that we looked into throughout the course. This is when a sound source may appear to be heading towards us giving us a higher pitch than when the sound is heading away from us making sounds appear further away. For this AP, we made our own Diddley bows! The materials needed was an aluminum can, a battery, wood, a guitar string, and screws. The screws were used as tuning pegs to increase tension when wrapping the guitar string around the screw. The piece of wood was able to be used as fretboard, and the aluminum can was used as a soundboard in order to amplify sound. You can learn more about this AP down below!

Audio recording of my Diddley bow!

To conclude, I really enjoyed this AP. I thought it was a nice opportunity to learn more about not only sound, but think about it in the way that it may deceive us at times. I also thought it was interesting to get the different opinions from the people at the Chicago Hearing Society, and understanding that there is more that can be done in this world to include everyone. Next time, I would like to see what other instruments could be made with basic materials that I could find around my home. There are instruments waiting to be created around me, and I think this AP allowed me to understand that.

My camera is better than yours!

For our first unit of Light, Sound, and Time we took a deeper dive into light and how light affects our everyday lives. The first two weeks we looked into the electromagnetic spectrum and how these waves surround us day in and out. We also looked into prisms and with that came the topic of refraction because a prism is essentially bending light whenever light passes through it. We spent some time learning some trigonometry and what exactly happens when light passes from one substance into another (Snell's Law). For this AP we were asked to create our own pinhole cameras to study how cameras take in light, what happens when light goes into a camera, and finding out the ending result. As an FE, we visited a darkroom at Harry Truman College where we were able to take some photos using our pinhole cameras and go through the step by step process of developing our images. To learn more about my pinhole camera and the process that came along with it, look through my presentation!