screensaver
Chromachron screensaver
2007-04-03 12:54
This screensaver is a version of a fascinating watch
designed in the early 1970s by engineer and designer
Tian Harlan. I've made a 24 hour analog version as a
screensaver for MacOS X, using Quartz Composer.
The Chromachron time display method was invented by artist and designer Kristian Harlan in the 1970s. 'Tian' Harlan was born in Berlin, in 1939. He studied Architecture in Berlin and became a qualified engineer. In 1972 he designed the Color Time sculpture for the Olympics Games in Munich. In 1973 he released the first Colour-Time graphics and objects. The Colour-Time watch, which had a mechanical movement, was manufactured by Chromachron A.G. in Germany.
On a Chromachron device, the time is indicated by the color and angle of a slit in a rotating disc. Beneath the disc the circle is divided into 24 sections (in the original 12 hour version, the disk was divided into 12 sections). Time is indicated both by the color of a slit in a revolving disk, and by the angle of the slit (similar to the hour hand of a conventional clock). The disc revolves at the speed of one coloured segment per hour, so that it is not possible to read the exact time: five minutes before twelve is read as "a short time before yellow". This approximate time measurement system was described as 'ending the dictatorship of the exact time'. In total, Harlan designed approximately one hundred different watches. His work has been exhibited in Berlin, London, Amsterdam and Paris. It's said that his Colour-Time watches were worn by, amongst others, Ringo Star, Max Bill, Charles Aznavour, and Carlo Levi.
More about the Chromachron here:
Java applet version of Chromachron
gchrom, a Chromachron software clock for X GNOME
Chromachron for windows
I've finally managed to work out how to add some options, so there's a noon at the top option, a digital readout, and a way of adjusting the thickness of the coloured rim.
Put the contents of the Zip archive in your screensavers folder. You can edit this file in Quartz Composer. If you make any interesting improvements, let me know!
Download (MacOS X only)
The Chromachron time display method was invented by artist and designer Kristian Harlan in the 1970s. 'Tian' Harlan was born in Berlin, in 1939. He studied Architecture in Berlin and became a qualified engineer. In 1972 he designed the Color Time sculpture for the Olympics Games in Munich. In 1973 he released the first Colour-Time graphics and objects. The Colour-Time watch, which had a mechanical movement, was manufactured by Chromachron A.G. in Germany.
On a Chromachron device, the time is indicated by the color and angle of a slit in a rotating disc. Beneath the disc the circle is divided into 24 sections (in the original 12 hour version, the disk was divided into 12 sections). Time is indicated both by the color of a slit in a revolving disk, and by the angle of the slit (similar to the hour hand of a conventional clock). The disc revolves at the speed of one coloured segment per hour, so that it is not possible to read the exact time: five minutes before twelve is read as "a short time before yellow". This approximate time measurement system was described as 'ending the dictatorship of the exact time'. In total, Harlan designed approximately one hundred different watches. His work has been exhibited in Berlin, London, Amsterdam and Paris. It's said that his Colour-Time watches were worn by, amongst others, Ringo Star, Max Bill, Charles Aznavour, and Carlo Levi.
More about the Chromachron here:
Java applet version of Chromachron
gchrom, a Chromachron software clock for X GNOME
Chromachron for windows
I've finally managed to work out how to add some options, so there's a noon at the top option, a digital readout, and a way of adjusting the thickness of the coloured rim.
Put the contents of the Zip archive in your screensavers folder. You can edit this file in Quartz Composer. If you make any interesting improvements, let me know!
Download (MacOS X only)
Greenwich time
2006-08-28 15:30
This screensaver is a reasonably accurate simulation
of the famous Shepherd clock at Greenwich in London.
If you have a Mac running Tiger (10.4), you can
download it from this site. See the Software page.
In 1852 Charles Shepherd installed a new clock outside the gate of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. This was an electrically operated clock, one of the earliest ever made, and it was controlled by a master clock mechanism inside the main building.
While Shepherd provided the engineering know-how, the original idea had come from the Astronomer Royal, George Airy. With the arrival of the railway network, England had recently found that a single time standard was needed to replace the various incompatible local times then in use across the country. Airy decided that this standard time would be provided by the Royal Observatory. His idea was to use what he called 'galvanism' or electric signalling to transmit time pulses from Greenwich to slave clocks throughout the country. The new submarine cable recently installed between Dover to Calais in 1851 raised the possibility of sending time signals almost instantly between England and France - this would allow longitude differences to be measured very accurately, for the first time.
In September 1851, Airy wrote to Shepherd asking for proposals and estimates. He included a request for the following clocks:
He also wanted the Greenwich time ball to be electrically operated, so that it would drop down its flagpole at exactly 13:00.
By August 1852, Shepherd had built and installed the network of clocks and cables in the observatory, although the costs were considerably higher than the original estimates. Shortly after, for the first time, Greenwich mean time was transmitted along cables from Greenwich to London Bridge, and thence to clocks and receivers throughout England. The primary pulse originated from this unlikely-looking master clock in the observatory.
By 1866, time signals were sent from this clock to Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts via the new transatlantic submarine cable.
The public clock at the gate originally indicated astronomical time, in which the counting of the 24 hours of a day started at noon every day rather than midnight. This picture, from 1870, shows the clock early in the morning, although the dial is showing 18:52.
In the 20th century, the clock was changed to show Greenwich Mean Time, which it still does - it doesn't show British Summer Time. The clock is still ticking happily away today, although it's now controlled by a quartz mechanism inside the main building.
The master clocks are still on display, as are the famous series of chronometers made by John Harrison. In the shop you can buy postcards and lapel pins of the clock (but no fridge magnets!) and there's also a small 24 hour quartz clock on sale. It's like a replica, although the complexities of the original Shepherd design have been replaced by a simpler interpretation.
When attempting my own version of this clock, the hardest parts were definitely the roman numerals. I couldn't find any font which matched and had to draw them again from scratch. If you compare my copy and the original you'll notice how much better the original is. Many subtle variations in size and placement were employed to produce an acceptable solution to an intractable problem: how to make numbers of such different widths do the same job. It's not a pretty design, i have to say, but it has a good solid Victorian heaviness to it, which matches its history well.
In 1852 Charles Shepherd installed a new clock outside the gate of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. This was an electrically operated clock, one of the earliest ever made, and it was controlled by a master clock mechanism inside the main building.
While Shepherd provided the engineering know-how, the original idea had come from the Astronomer Royal, George Airy. With the arrival of the railway network, England had recently found that a single time standard was needed to replace the various incompatible local times then in use across the country. Airy decided that this standard time would be provided by the Royal Observatory. His idea was to use what he called 'galvanism' or electric signalling to transmit time pulses from Greenwich to slave clocks throughout the country. The new submarine cable recently installed between Dover to Calais in 1851 raised the possibility of sending time signals almost instantly between England and France - this would allow longitude differences to be measured very accurately, for the first time.
In September 1851, Airy wrote to Shepherd asking for proposals and estimates. He included a request for the following clocks:
One automatic clock. One clock with large dial to be seen by the Public, near the Observatory entrance, and three smaller clocks, all to be moved sympathetically with the automatic clock.
He also wanted the Greenwich time ball to be electrically operated, so that it would drop down its flagpole at exactly 13:00.
By August 1852, Shepherd had built and installed the network of clocks and cables in the observatory, although the costs were considerably higher than the original estimates. Shortly after, for the first time, Greenwich mean time was transmitted along cables from Greenwich to London Bridge, and thence to clocks and receivers throughout England. The primary pulse originated from this unlikely-looking master clock in the observatory.
By 1866, time signals were sent from this clock to Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts via the new transatlantic submarine cable.
The public clock at the gate originally indicated astronomical time, in which the counting of the 24 hours of a day started at noon every day rather than midnight. This picture, from 1870, shows the clock early in the morning, although the dial is showing 18:52.
In the 20th century, the clock was changed to show Greenwich Mean Time, which it still does - it doesn't show British Summer Time. The clock is still ticking happily away today, although it's now controlled by a quartz mechanism inside the main building.
The master clocks are still on display, as are the famous series of chronometers made by John Harrison. In the shop you can buy postcards and lapel pins of the clock (but no fridge magnets!) and there's also a small 24 hour quartz clock on sale. It's like a replica, although the complexities of the original Shepherd design have been replaced by a simpler interpretation.
When attempting my own version of this clock, the hardest parts were definitely the roman numerals. I couldn't find any font which matched and had to draw them again from scratch. If you compare my copy and the original you'll notice how much better the original is. Many subtle variations in size and placement were employed to produce an acceptable solution to an intractable problem: how to make numbers of such different widths do the same job. It's not a pretty design, i have to say, but it has a good solid Victorian heaviness to it, which matches its history well.
Screensaver for Mac
2005-10-20 14:03
I haven't yet managed to find any 24 hour analog
screen savers, but it wasn't too difficult to make
this one for my Mac, using the Quartz Composer
graphical programming environment provided with all
Macs.
Download this from the Software page.
Download this from the Software page.