How did hourglass happen? How did they even get the right amount/size of each sand particle/other physical aspects to be aligned with the time?
In: Physics
I have owned several hourglasses (and similar timepieces) and I can tell you from my personal experience, they all vary. None are exactly the amount of time they claim to measure (hour, 5 minute, etc) and they all vary due to a lot of factors. Even an hourglass that actually runs 52 minutes one day might run 57 minutes tomorrow, or it might get a clog that needs to be cleared (I give it a little shake).
So, they’re NOT accurate or precise measurements of time AT ALL. They’re more like “in the ballpark of” so getting worried about how they’re made to exacting specifications doesn’t really make sense. It’s all just “good enough” engineering.
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