To calculate time using a water clock, particularly the method described by the Indians known as 'Ghatika', you use the process of a container filling with water and sinking within a larger water-filled vessel.
Understanding the Water Clock Calculation
The method involves a simple yet ingenious mechanism to measure time intervals. As referenced, the ancient Indian water clock, called the Ghatika, calculated time based on the principle of controlled water flow.
Here’s how this type of water clock calculates the passing of time:
- Setup: A larger container filled with water is prepared.
- Mechanism: An empty container with a hole in its base is carefully placed inside the larger water-filled container.
- Filling Process: Water from the larger container begins to seep or flow through the hole into the smaller empty container.
- Time Marking: As water enters, the smaller container gradually fills. When this empty container with the hole was filled to a certain level, or filled completely causing it to sink, it used to mark the passing of a certain time interval.
- Repetition: Once the smaller container has filled and marked the time interval (often by sinking), it would be emptied and the process would repeat to measure subsequent time units.
The size of the hole and the volume of the smaller container determined the length of the time interval measured by each cycle of filling and sinking. This repeatable sequence provided a consistent way to track time throughout the day or night.
