Travel Atomic Alarm Clock

The concept of the alarm clock dates back to ancient Greece, where Plato is said to have invented a water-based clock that triggered an alarm when the water reached a certain level. Clocks capable of sounding off at a given time emerged in China around the start of the 8th century C.E. and these appeared throughout the world in the centuries that followed. In 1787, an American man named Levi Hutchins introduced an alarm clock that would ring at only one time (4 a.m.), but he never patented it. Instead, a Frenchman named Antoine Redier patented the first adjustable mechanical alarm clock in 1848. Since then, alarm clocks have evolved considerably, offering users a variety of features beyond telling the time. Consumers can buy alarm clocks at electronics and home goods retailers, as well as through online retailers like eBay. This article will explore the different types of alarm clocks and their features.

Types of Clocks

While the first clocks used mechanical parts and gears, technology has evolved to give consumers increasingly more accurate measures of time. Displaying the time on a traditional clock face with hands to mark the hour, minute, and sometimes second, analog clocks use gears to keep track of time and need to be wound or reset regularly. However, there are three other types of clocks that offer more precise measurements: quartz analog clocks, digital clocks, and atomic clocks.

Check out this video to learn more about the different types of alarm clocks:

Quartz Analog Clocks

Quartz analog clocks use a quartz crystal to track the passage of time. Made of silicon dioxide (the same material as sand), quartz changes its shape and vibrates when an electrical current passes through it. In a clock, the vibrations are counted by another component, called the oscillator, which uses a predetermined frequency, or the number of vibrations in a set period, to determine when a second has passed, then passes the information on to the rest of the clock components. Typically powered by a battery, a quartz analog clock may have the traditional clock face or a digital display and is considered highly reliable.