The Clock of the Long Now
The Clock of the Long Now is the world's largest, slowest and most durable clock. Or rather it will be. As of yet it doesn't actually exist - however at the time of writing there is a prototype on display on the London Science Museum. A second prototype is under development.
The Long Now Foundation
The Clock of the Long Now is a project of the Long Now Foundation. The Foundation was established in 1996 (or, as they prefer to call it, 01996) to try to encourage very long term thinking about the future of the planet and the human race. Not just next year or even next century, but 10,000 years into the future. The name "Long Now" was coined by musician Brian Eno who was one of the founding members. The name was inspired by the pace of life in New York and is intended to make people extend their thinking about what constitutes "now".
What is the Clock of the Long Now?
The clock is intended to be a concrete symbol of long term thinking. It is based on an idea by computer scientist Daniel Hillis who, in response to the approach of the year 2000, wrote:
"I want to build a clock that ticks once a year. The century hand advances once every one hundred years, and the cuckoo comes out on the millennium. I want the cuckoo to come out every millennium for the next 10,000 years."
The Clock of the Long Now is an attempt to realise that vision.
The first prototype was completed in 1999 and work is underway on a second prototype. The foundation has also purchased a mountain top site in Nevada where it is hoped that the final version of the Long Now Clock will be installed.
Design Principles
Designing a clock that will run for 10,000 years is obviously a massive challenge. It must be easy to maintain and reliable. It must also be able to withstand climactic changes as well as changes in technology - any of today's most modern technology is likely to be obsolete within a few hundred years.For these reasons the clock prototype uses basic low-level mechanical technology. It is weight driven and uses a stack of disks to implement a mechanical binary counting system for tracking the time.
The finished version of the Long Now Clock is expected to be large enough to walk through, with timekeeping adjusted by the passing of the sun at noon.
External Links:
The Long Now Foundation