The Phoenix Society Presents:John Taylor,Inventor
Fellows Dining Room,Churchill College
The new Corpus Christi College Clock was inaugurated by Professor Stephen Hawkins in September 2008 as the first clock in the world that sets out to show time as relative.
The Clock’s design is unique,taking over 5 years and £1m to make,having been a personal project for Dr Taylor,who will explain some of the concepts involved in its design.
Formerly an Undergraduate at Corpus,Dr Taylor created a highly successful thermostat design used in many kettles and similar products.
Entry,refreshments and wine are free of charge for University members.
Facebook:bit.ly/corpus-clock
Though I was away at the time,I am reliably informed that ‘The guy who was talking about the Corpus Clock really cool!’…as recounted to me late the evening after. Competing with the annual fireworks had a noticeable impact on numbers,but thank you to those who who came to hear about the quirky design and background to Dr Taylor that lead to its creation.
My thanks must go to Allen Cruickshank,who was kind enough to chair the talk in my absence.
Harry,President
PS:Some interesting facts from the night:
- The clock actually has two pendulums
- The lights are always on and the effect of moving lights is created using plates with slits in them which move (vernier slits)
- During the war,the americans never bombed at night,only because their heated suits were too noisy and so they would have been spotted,wheras the english suits ran at a lower voltage and so could be on all the time and were silent.
[Quite how this came up,I don't know]
- Dr Taylor’s father had over 300 patents [Allen thinks];he has almost as many.
- The shape of the face was made by detonating explosives under water.