時鐘為何順時針而轉？

安落實

"Time to get dressed！"

"Time for school！"

"Time for dinner！"

"Time for bed！"

Old Father Time can be quite an interfering busybody2） and there really is nothing we can do. Most of us spend a greater part of our time and lives trying to beat exactly this—time！

Strangely enough the clock's hands seem to take forever to inch3） forward during a dull lesson， while time really flies when we are having a good time！ We surround ourselves with alarm clocks， cuckoo clocks， wristwatches， grandfather clocks4） and peer at them to make sure we are sticking to our schedule. But have you ever taken a moment to wonder why the hands on the face of a clock move the way they do？ Why do the hour and minute hands move from left to right （in what is now called the "clockwise direction"） and not vice-versa？ No， it is not the whim5） of the inventor. Actually there is a scientific explanation for this observation.

Throughout history， time has been measured by the movement of the Sun （or， more accurately， the motion of the Earth relative to the Sun）. The earliest form of timekeeping dates as far back as 3500 B.C. This was the shadow clock or the sundials6）—a vertical stick or obelisk7） that casts a shadow. An example of this clock can be seen at Jantar Mantar8） in Delhi.

People had already realised that the Earth is round and that it revolves around the Sun. So for ages people measured time based on the position of the Sun—it was noon when the Sun was highest in the sky.

The earliest clocks were invented in China around 100 A.D. based on these earlier sundials， which were simple devices that marked the movement of the Sun with the movement of the Earth.

Mechanical clocks were invented in the Northern Hemisphere in the 14th century and the inventors naturally wanted the device to follow the Sun's movement in the sky. In the Northern Hemisphere the Sun appears to move in the sky from the left to the right and so the hands of the clock were made to follow the Sun's motion， moving from left to right or what is commonly known as clockwise. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere and face the South， you can watch the Sun rising on your left （the East） pass overhead and set in the West （at your right）.

As simple as that！ Come to think of it， if the mechanical clock had been invented in the Southern Hemisphere， the hand on the dial of your watch would have been moving from right to left！

Do you know there are some Jewish and Arabic clocks that run anti-clockwise？ This makes perfect sense as Arabic and Hebrew readers （Arabic and Hebrew characters are written right to left） but baffles9） everyone else！

“該穿衣服啦！”

“該上學啦！”

“該吃晚飯啦！”

“該上床睡覺啦！”

時間老人真是個特別愛管閑事的主，對此我們真的無計可施。我們大多數人用很長一段時間和生命試圖去擊敗的正是這個時間！

說來也真是奇怪，在一堂枯燥的課上，時鐘指針似乎要花很長時間去一點點地向前移動，而當我們在享受一段快樂的時光時，時間又過得飛快！我們置身在鬧鐘、布谷鳥鐘、手表和落地鐘之間，時刻盯著它們，以確保我們能夠按照時間表去做事。但你是否曾花點兒時間想過，為什么鐘面上的指針是按它們現在的方式移動？為什么時針和分針從左向右（即現在所說的“順時針方向”）移動，而不是朝相反的方向？這并非發明者心血來潮，實際上關于這一現象有科學的解釋。

在整個歷史長河中，時間一直是通過太陽的運動（或者更準確地說，是通過地球相對于太陽的運動）來測量的。最早的計時形式要追溯到公元前3500年。它就是當時的影子時鐘或者叫日晷——一種可投下陰影的豎桿或方尖碑。在印度德里的簡塔·曼塔古天文臺就可以看到一個這樣的時鐘。

人們早就意識到地球是圓的，而且它在圍繞太陽旋轉。所以，很長時間內人們都是根據太陽的位置來測定時間的——當太陽升到空中最高處時就說明到了中午。

在這些早期日晷的基礎上，中國在公元100年左右發明了最早的時鐘，這是一種標記太陽和地球運動的簡單裝置。

機械鐘表是14世紀在北半球被發明的，那些發明者自然希望它能夠跟隨太陽在天空中的運動。在北半球，太陽在天空中似乎是從左向右移動的，于是時鐘的指針也被設計成跟隨太陽的運動，即從左向右或通常所說的順時針方向移動。如果你在北半球，面朝南邊，你可以看到太陽在你的左邊（東邊）升起，然后從頭頂上方經過，最后在西邊（你的右邊）落下。

就是這么簡單！細想一下，如果機械鐘表是在南半球被發明的，那么你表盤上的指針可就要從右向左移動了！

你知道嗎？有些猶太人和阿拉伯人的時鐘是逆時針方向轉動的！這在阿拉伯人和希伯來人看來完全合情合理（因為阿拉伯和希伯來文字是從右向左寫的），但卻會讓其他所有人感到困惑不解。

1. clockwise [?kl?kwa?z] adv. 順時針方向地

2. busybody [?b?zib?di] n. 愛管閑事的人；搬弄是非的人

3. inch [?nt?] vi. 緩慢地移動

4. grandfather clock： （裝在高木匣中的）落地式大擺鐘；爺爺鐘

5. whim [w?m] n. 異想天開的念頭；怪念頭

6. sundial [?s?nda??l] n. 日晷（日晷上的指針能利用陰影指出時辰）

7. obelisk [??b?l?sk] n. （為紀念某人或某重大事件的）方尖碑；方尖塔

8. Jantar Mantar： 簡塔·曼塔古天文臺，是印度德里齋普爾城建造者賈伊·辛格二世（Jai Singh II， 1688～1743）的杰作，當年星象家用它來觀測天象、預測事務。這里有世界上最大的日晷，距今已有近300年的歷史。

9. baffle [?b?fl] vt. 使困惑，難住