A purely mechanical bell in a clock tower that automatically rings gradually faster on a specific night of...












2












$begingroup$


This question pertains to the videogame The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. In this game, the bell from the Clock Town clock tower can be heard from pretty much anywhere in the world at certain times, when it rings at regular intervals to announce the fall of night or the break of dawn. However, each 'time cycle' in the game ends with the dawning of the Carnival of Time, a festival of cultural and religious significance in-universe, wherein the bell rings much more frequently. On this day, from the hours between midnight and 5 AM, the bell rings once every 10 in-game minutes (10 IRL seconds). From 5:00 to 5:30, it starts ringing more frequently, at intervals of once every 5 in-game minutes/5 IRL seconds. Once 5:30 hits, it starts ringing at intervals of once every 3 in-game minutes/IRL seconds.



This is obviously done mostly for atmospheric reasons as if you allow the game clock to reach 6:00 AM on this day it'll mark a game over from an apocalyptic scenario, but my question is: how viable would it be to automate a bell in a clock tower system with purely mechanical (i.e. non-electronic) components to do this on a specific night?



Cursory research has taught me that fully mechanical clocks have been a thing since at least the 14th Century and chiming clocks date back to the 1600s, but so far nothing that has left me satisfied with trying to figure out if a mechanism such as I've described here could be viable assuming it was fully automated and mechanical for one specific night (as opposed to being forced to assume a human bell ringer). This assumes being limited to real-world physics, as this is a universe where magic exists.










share|improve this question







New contributor




Ricardi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    This is 100% possible using a purely mechanical system. It would just be super complex.
    $endgroup$
    – Shadowzee
    3 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Welcome to Worldbuilding, Ricardi! If you have a moment, please take the tour and visit the help center to learn more about the site. You may also find Worldbuilding Meta and The Sandbox useful. Here is a meta post on the culture and style of Worldbuilding.SE, just to help you understand our scope and methods, and how we do things here. Have fun!
    $endgroup$
    – Gryphon
    2 hours ago
















2












$begingroup$


This question pertains to the videogame The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. In this game, the bell from the Clock Town clock tower can be heard from pretty much anywhere in the world at certain times, when it rings at regular intervals to announce the fall of night or the break of dawn. However, each 'time cycle' in the game ends with the dawning of the Carnival of Time, a festival of cultural and religious significance in-universe, wherein the bell rings much more frequently. On this day, from the hours between midnight and 5 AM, the bell rings once every 10 in-game minutes (10 IRL seconds). From 5:00 to 5:30, it starts ringing more frequently, at intervals of once every 5 in-game minutes/5 IRL seconds. Once 5:30 hits, it starts ringing at intervals of once every 3 in-game minutes/IRL seconds.



This is obviously done mostly for atmospheric reasons as if you allow the game clock to reach 6:00 AM on this day it'll mark a game over from an apocalyptic scenario, but my question is: how viable would it be to automate a bell in a clock tower system with purely mechanical (i.e. non-electronic) components to do this on a specific night?



Cursory research has taught me that fully mechanical clocks have been a thing since at least the 14th Century and chiming clocks date back to the 1600s, but so far nothing that has left me satisfied with trying to figure out if a mechanism such as I've described here could be viable assuming it was fully automated and mechanical for one specific night (as opposed to being forced to assume a human bell ringer). This assumes being limited to real-world physics, as this is a universe where magic exists.










share|improve this question







New contributor




Ricardi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$












  • $begingroup$
    This is 100% possible using a purely mechanical system. It would just be super complex.
    $endgroup$
    – Shadowzee
    3 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Welcome to Worldbuilding, Ricardi! If you have a moment, please take the tour and visit the help center to learn more about the site. You may also find Worldbuilding Meta and The Sandbox useful. Here is a meta post on the culture and style of Worldbuilding.SE, just to help you understand our scope and methods, and how we do things here. Have fun!
    $endgroup$
    – Gryphon
    2 hours ago














2












2








2





$begingroup$


This question pertains to the videogame The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. In this game, the bell from the Clock Town clock tower can be heard from pretty much anywhere in the world at certain times, when it rings at regular intervals to announce the fall of night or the break of dawn. However, each 'time cycle' in the game ends with the dawning of the Carnival of Time, a festival of cultural and religious significance in-universe, wherein the bell rings much more frequently. On this day, from the hours between midnight and 5 AM, the bell rings once every 10 in-game minutes (10 IRL seconds). From 5:00 to 5:30, it starts ringing more frequently, at intervals of once every 5 in-game minutes/5 IRL seconds. Once 5:30 hits, it starts ringing at intervals of once every 3 in-game minutes/IRL seconds.



This is obviously done mostly for atmospheric reasons as if you allow the game clock to reach 6:00 AM on this day it'll mark a game over from an apocalyptic scenario, but my question is: how viable would it be to automate a bell in a clock tower system with purely mechanical (i.e. non-electronic) components to do this on a specific night?



Cursory research has taught me that fully mechanical clocks have been a thing since at least the 14th Century and chiming clocks date back to the 1600s, but so far nothing that has left me satisfied with trying to figure out if a mechanism such as I've described here could be viable assuming it was fully automated and mechanical for one specific night (as opposed to being forced to assume a human bell ringer). This assumes being limited to real-world physics, as this is a universe where magic exists.










share|improve this question







New contributor




Ricardi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$




This question pertains to the videogame The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. In this game, the bell from the Clock Town clock tower can be heard from pretty much anywhere in the world at certain times, when it rings at regular intervals to announce the fall of night or the break of dawn. However, each 'time cycle' in the game ends with the dawning of the Carnival of Time, a festival of cultural and religious significance in-universe, wherein the bell rings much more frequently. On this day, from the hours between midnight and 5 AM, the bell rings once every 10 in-game minutes (10 IRL seconds). From 5:00 to 5:30, it starts ringing more frequently, at intervals of once every 5 in-game minutes/5 IRL seconds. Once 5:30 hits, it starts ringing at intervals of once every 3 in-game minutes/IRL seconds.



This is obviously done mostly for atmospheric reasons as if you allow the game clock to reach 6:00 AM on this day it'll mark a game over from an apocalyptic scenario, but my question is: how viable would it be to automate a bell in a clock tower system with purely mechanical (i.e. non-electronic) components to do this on a specific night?



Cursory research has taught me that fully mechanical clocks have been a thing since at least the 14th Century and chiming clocks date back to the 1600s, but so far nothing that has left me satisfied with trying to figure out if a mechanism such as I've described here could be viable assuming it was fully automated and mechanical for one specific night (as opposed to being forced to assume a human bell ringer). This assumes being limited to real-world physics, as this is a universe where magic exists.







reality-check technology engineering






share|improve this question







New contributor




Ricardi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question







New contributor




Ricardi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question






New contributor




Ricardi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









asked 3 hours ago









RicardiRicardi

132




132




New contributor




Ricardi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





Ricardi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






Ricardi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.












  • $begingroup$
    This is 100% possible using a purely mechanical system. It would just be super complex.
    $endgroup$
    – Shadowzee
    3 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Welcome to Worldbuilding, Ricardi! If you have a moment, please take the tour and visit the help center to learn more about the site. You may also find Worldbuilding Meta and The Sandbox useful. Here is a meta post on the culture and style of Worldbuilding.SE, just to help you understand our scope and methods, and how we do things here. Have fun!
    $endgroup$
    – Gryphon
    2 hours ago


















  • $begingroup$
    This is 100% possible using a purely mechanical system. It would just be super complex.
    $endgroup$
    – Shadowzee
    3 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Welcome to Worldbuilding, Ricardi! If you have a moment, please take the tour and visit the help center to learn more about the site. You may also find Worldbuilding Meta and The Sandbox useful. Here is a meta post on the culture and style of Worldbuilding.SE, just to help you understand our scope and methods, and how we do things here. Have fun!
    $endgroup$
    – Gryphon
    2 hours ago
















$begingroup$
This is 100% possible using a purely mechanical system. It would just be super complex.
$endgroup$
– Shadowzee
3 hours ago




$begingroup$
This is 100% possible using a purely mechanical system. It would just be super complex.
$endgroup$
– Shadowzee
3 hours ago












$begingroup$
Welcome to Worldbuilding, Ricardi! If you have a moment, please take the tour and visit the help center to learn more about the site. You may also find Worldbuilding Meta and The Sandbox useful. Here is a meta post on the culture and style of Worldbuilding.SE, just to help you understand our scope and methods, and how we do things here. Have fun!
$endgroup$
– Gryphon
2 hours ago




$begingroup$
Welcome to Worldbuilding, Ricardi! If you have a moment, please take the tour and visit the help center to learn more about the site. You may also find Worldbuilding Meta and The Sandbox useful. Here is a meta post on the culture and style of Worldbuilding.SE, just to help you understand our scope and methods, and how we do things here. Have fun!
$endgroup$
– Gryphon
2 hours ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















5












$begingroup$

In clock-making such a feature is called a complication.



Movements with complications are quite common, from simple-minded calendars (which need to be reset at the end of every month shorter than 31 days) to true perpetual calendars and indications of the phases of the moon. The specific complication described in the question seems to be perfecly possible based on the existing perpetual calendar mechanism.



Wikipedia writes that the record holder is a pocket watch by Vacheron Constantin; the Reference 57260 movement features 57 distinct complications, including a Gregorian perpetual calendar, with day and month name (which could constitute the basis for the requested functionality).






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$









  • 1




    $begingroup$
    This answer deserves a bounty.
    $endgroup$
    – Renan
    2 hours ago



















0












$begingroup$

Easy if it's made for it



There is a clock set to play different tunes over a 10,000 year period



See 10,000 Year Clock



All you need is a mechanism that cycles long enough to repeat the cycle.






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    "There is a clock set to play different tunes over a 10,000 year period" : actually, no there isn't, I don't know who produced & posted the article you link to but I assume it's a piece of promotional fluff of the "this is what it will be like" variety because as far as I can find the 10,000-year clock is still only a proposal that isn't actually built yet.
    $endgroup$
    – Pelinore
    3 hours ago













Your Answer





StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
});
});
}, "mathjax-editing");

StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "579"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});

function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});


}
});






Ricardi is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










draft saved

draft discarded


















StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworldbuilding.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f138611%2fa-purely-mechanical-bell-in-a-clock-tower-that-automatically-rings-gradually-fas%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown

























2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









5












$begingroup$

In clock-making such a feature is called a complication.



Movements with complications are quite common, from simple-minded calendars (which need to be reset at the end of every month shorter than 31 days) to true perpetual calendars and indications of the phases of the moon. The specific complication described in the question seems to be perfecly possible based on the existing perpetual calendar mechanism.



Wikipedia writes that the record holder is a pocket watch by Vacheron Constantin; the Reference 57260 movement features 57 distinct complications, including a Gregorian perpetual calendar, with day and month name (which could constitute the basis for the requested functionality).






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$









  • 1




    $begingroup$
    This answer deserves a bounty.
    $endgroup$
    – Renan
    2 hours ago
















5












$begingroup$

In clock-making such a feature is called a complication.



Movements with complications are quite common, from simple-minded calendars (which need to be reset at the end of every month shorter than 31 days) to true perpetual calendars and indications of the phases of the moon. The specific complication described in the question seems to be perfecly possible based on the existing perpetual calendar mechanism.



Wikipedia writes that the record holder is a pocket watch by Vacheron Constantin; the Reference 57260 movement features 57 distinct complications, including a Gregorian perpetual calendar, with day and month name (which could constitute the basis for the requested functionality).






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$









  • 1




    $begingroup$
    This answer deserves a bounty.
    $endgroup$
    – Renan
    2 hours ago














5












5








5





$begingroup$

In clock-making such a feature is called a complication.



Movements with complications are quite common, from simple-minded calendars (which need to be reset at the end of every month shorter than 31 days) to true perpetual calendars and indications of the phases of the moon. The specific complication described in the question seems to be perfecly possible based on the existing perpetual calendar mechanism.



Wikipedia writes that the record holder is a pocket watch by Vacheron Constantin; the Reference 57260 movement features 57 distinct complications, including a Gregorian perpetual calendar, with day and month name (which could constitute the basis for the requested functionality).






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$



In clock-making such a feature is called a complication.



Movements with complications are quite common, from simple-minded calendars (which need to be reset at the end of every month shorter than 31 days) to true perpetual calendars and indications of the phases of the moon. The specific complication described in the question seems to be perfecly possible based on the existing perpetual calendar mechanism.



Wikipedia writes that the record holder is a pocket watch by Vacheron Constantin; the Reference 57260 movement features 57 distinct complications, including a Gregorian perpetual calendar, with day and month name (which could constitute the basis for the requested functionality).







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 3 hours ago









AlexPAlexP

37.1k784143




37.1k784143








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    This answer deserves a bounty.
    $endgroup$
    – Renan
    2 hours ago














  • 1




    $begingroup$
    This answer deserves a bounty.
    $endgroup$
    – Renan
    2 hours ago








1




1




$begingroup$
This answer deserves a bounty.
$endgroup$
– Renan
2 hours ago




$begingroup$
This answer deserves a bounty.
$endgroup$
– Renan
2 hours ago











0












$begingroup$

Easy if it's made for it



There is a clock set to play different tunes over a 10,000 year period



See 10,000 Year Clock



All you need is a mechanism that cycles long enough to repeat the cycle.






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    "There is a clock set to play different tunes over a 10,000 year period" : actually, no there isn't, I don't know who produced & posted the article you link to but I assume it's a piece of promotional fluff of the "this is what it will be like" variety because as far as I can find the 10,000-year clock is still only a proposal that isn't actually built yet.
    $endgroup$
    – Pelinore
    3 hours ago


















0












$begingroup$

Easy if it's made for it



There is a clock set to play different tunes over a 10,000 year period



See 10,000 Year Clock



All you need is a mechanism that cycles long enough to repeat the cycle.






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$













  • $begingroup$
    "There is a clock set to play different tunes over a 10,000 year period" : actually, no there isn't, I don't know who produced & posted the article you link to but I assume it's a piece of promotional fluff of the "this is what it will be like" variety because as far as I can find the 10,000-year clock is still only a proposal that isn't actually built yet.
    $endgroup$
    – Pelinore
    3 hours ago
















0












0








0





$begingroup$

Easy if it's made for it



There is a clock set to play different tunes over a 10,000 year period



See 10,000 Year Clock



All you need is a mechanism that cycles long enough to repeat the cycle.






share|improve this answer









$endgroup$



Easy if it's made for it



There is a clock set to play different tunes over a 10,000 year period



See 10,000 Year Clock



All you need is a mechanism that cycles long enough to repeat the cycle.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 3 hours ago









ThorneThorne

15.3k42148




15.3k42148












  • $begingroup$
    "There is a clock set to play different tunes over a 10,000 year period" : actually, no there isn't, I don't know who produced & posted the article you link to but I assume it's a piece of promotional fluff of the "this is what it will be like" variety because as far as I can find the 10,000-year clock is still only a proposal that isn't actually built yet.
    $endgroup$
    – Pelinore
    3 hours ago




















  • $begingroup$
    "There is a clock set to play different tunes over a 10,000 year period" : actually, no there isn't, I don't know who produced & posted the article you link to but I assume it's a piece of promotional fluff of the "this is what it will be like" variety because as far as I can find the 10,000-year clock is still only a proposal that isn't actually built yet.
    $endgroup$
    – Pelinore
    3 hours ago


















$begingroup$
"There is a clock set to play different tunes over a 10,000 year period" : actually, no there isn't, I don't know who produced & posted the article you link to but I assume it's a piece of promotional fluff of the "this is what it will be like" variety because as far as I can find the 10,000-year clock is still only a proposal that isn't actually built yet.
$endgroup$
– Pelinore
3 hours ago






$begingroup$
"There is a clock set to play different tunes over a 10,000 year period" : actually, no there isn't, I don't know who produced & posted the article you link to but I assume it's a piece of promotional fluff of the "this is what it will be like" variety because as far as I can find the 10,000-year clock is still only a proposal that isn't actually built yet.
$endgroup$
– Pelinore
3 hours ago












Ricardi is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










draft saved

draft discarded


















Ricardi is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.













Ricardi is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.












Ricardi is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
















Thanks for contributing an answer to Worldbuilding Stack Exchange!


  • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid



  • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

  • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




draft saved


draft discarded














StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworldbuilding.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f138611%2fa-purely-mechanical-bell-in-a-clock-tower-that-automatically-rings-gradually-fas%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown





















































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown

































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown







Popular posts from this blog

Knooppunt Holsloot

Altaar (religie)

Gregoriusmis