subject: The Mystery Of An Alarm Clock [print this page] An alarm clock is, in some households, not a welcome guest. Shoes are often thrown at it and cuss words are uttered when the buzzing sound interrupts a sound sleep. Regardless of this, the next night or day they are carefully re-set because they are a necessary part of life. They make sure the household runs on a schedule so all appointments are kept, from going to work to setting the time necessary to complete a special task.
People look at our modern clocks and think they are a fairly recent invention. This is not true. Records have been found of these having been in existence as far back as 285 BC. The purpose of these time pieces was to 'alarm' or signal someone that something had to be done at a certain time.
The clock towers, which chime at certain times of the day, can be found in almost every large city. The first models, of this type were invented in China, some of which were astronomical clocks and some water powered. This was an amazing accomplishment when one realizes that this took place in the 10th and 11th centuries. For many people this was treated as their alarm clock.
If one takes an alarm clock apart they will find the insides quite complicated and wonder how anyone could design such an intricate system. Although mechanisms within this device are recorded back to the 15th century it wasn't until the 1800s that a patent was issued for the present day alarm system. This was considered a revolutionary event at that time.
In the 1940's the radio alarm clock was invented. This type of clock allowed the user to set it for a certain hour and a certain station. When the alarm went off the radio would play music or voices to awaken the sleeper. This was considered less jarring and a pleasant way to start the day.
Modern digital alarm clocks work on this same principal except that a person can go to sleep with the radio on and it will shut the station off automatically until the next morning when it will come on again. Some of them have advanced to being able to re-set the time should there be power failure. Others have a battery backup system to prevent total stoppage.
Many of today's clocks have a 'snooze button'. When awakened by the sound of the alarm the sleeper can hit this button and have the alarm that can be stopped temporarily. This allows perhaps five minutes of 'extra sleep' when, in reality the person is half awake. Those who have what is called a 'deep sleep' and have a hard time getting up at certain times appreciate this type of alarm.
There have been many different kinds of the alarm clock added to today's society. With technology one has some that are adapted to the computer or the cell phone. Each day there are new ideas on the market. Regardless of what is new there is nothing to replace the old fashioned clock. One does not need electricity, the Internet or any other technical device to have something that is dependable and can get one where they want to go in a timely manner.
