A 1001 Inventions fan from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has finalised a fantastic project reproducing Al-Jazari’s automatic Elephant Clock. Inspired by 1001 Inventions, Ahmad Sahar reproduced the medieval ingenious clock by Al-Jazari using a LEGO Bucket Wheel Excavator kit and LEGO Mindstorms kits.
When the program by Mr. Sahar is run, the reproduction works like the original elephant clock. Scribe shows minutes, dial at the top shows hours. Every 30 minutes, bird rotates, snake swings down and simulates dropping a ball into the clock body, and the mahout animates. The dial automatically advances to the next half hour and the actions are repeated. Video with details: https://bit.ly/2H3YgRw
The remarkable engineer Al-Jazari’s famous Elephant Clock includes an Egyptian phoenix, Chinese dragons, and figures in Arabian dress. The masterpiece celebrating the diversity of humankind cleverly reflects cultural and technological influences from across Muslim Civilisation, from Spain to China.
The 800-year-old automatic Elephant Clock is probably the most famous of clocks from Muslim Civilisation. Watch a short film by 1001 Inventions on Al-Jazari’s 13th century Elephant Clock with animated sequences showing how it worked: https://bit.ly/2GqFvGF
1001 Inventions team is delighted with this self-motivated project in Malaysia. The production is a wonderful example of education in action supporting learning while helping raise awareness of the creative golden age of science in early Muslim Civilisation.