The Challenge: Build accurate clocks |
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How
did the clock chime?
This is where the
science more or less ends. We made a float that rose as the water level
moved up in the lower barrel. By using bamboo, string, nails, scraps of
wood and other odds and ends we linked this to a triggering mechanism
which released coconuts or calabashes on the hour so that they would roll
down rails to make a chiming noise on an old disused lime juice machine.
Perhaps we were out in the tropical sun for too long! To calibrate the
water clock, we used the sundial and worked out how far the float rose
each hour.
Making a "watch" 
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