The booster of French technology

             

One of the chief boosters of French technology lies in Napolean rule, which gave immense scope for personal liberties and  freedom. The exigent result of this congenial atmosphere was innovation in the field of science and technology. Drastic changes could be witnessed in scientific technology of the time. The millennium clock was a wonderful invention of the 18^th century. In 1746, a French clockmaker, Monsieur Passermont invented a clock, with such finesse that it, did not only, fulfil the needs of the time, but also has become an evergreen invention. It has stood the test of time, through generations. What we use today, also, is a gift of Passermont. The most amazing feature of this clock is that its dials can reveal the date of the month in any year up to 9999. Passant’s clock was capable of keeping track of the leap year, wit the addition of a special wheel. It could also complete the turn of the century, and the turn of the millenium successfully.

     

             Passermont’s clock consists of a mechanism that holds together 1000 interconnecting wheels and cogs. Their co-ordinated movements, while they turn at different speeds with each swing of the pendulum, are designed to cope with the complex features of the Julian calendar. One large brass wheel is responsible for inserting February 29 in each leap year. This particular wheel takes four years to complete a single tevolution. When it has come full circle, it pops in the extra day.  The missing February 29 in 1700, 1800 and 1900 , has to be done manually, and this has successfully been achieved by him.

     

             Louis XV buys the clock in 1749, three years after its completion. It is still ticking away two and a half centuries later

       Not only did several other Frenchmen buy the clock, but also Louis XV too did buy one for himself. Louis XV bought it 3 years after Passent’s invention  .

      The minutes in earlier clocks had to be adjusted by hand because the clock loses a minute a month. But, Passent’s clock does not require any such assistance. Even our clocks which are a descendants of Passent’s, did not need any assistance in making change in the first digit of its year display – from 1 to 2, at midnight on 31 December 1999.

             The clock is undoubtedly, a pioneering research, and is the smartest invention, compared to the previous ones, in terms of mechanical function and design. The invention was harbinger of the possibilities of higher innovations in field of technology.