How Computers Work: The Evolution of Technology, Tenth Edition

Chapter 10. How Small Mutations Pay Off Big

Small things, like cellular mutations and the smallest pieces of machinery, can have a big impact.

The first clocks were not small things. These clocks, which first appeared in the 16^th century B.C. in Babylon and Egypt, ranged from desk size to house size. In their simplest form, a bowl with a hole in the bottom was filled with water. The water slowly dripped through the hole, filling a container below it. As the water rose in the container, a float rose with it. A pointer on the float indicated the time using a series of markings on the inside of the container.

The water clock, called a clepsydra, ...