Recent from talks
Zimmer tower
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Zimmer tower
The Zimmer tower (Dutch: Zimmertoren) is a tower in Lier, Belgium, also known as the Cornelius tower, that was originally a keep of Lier's 14th-century city fortifications. In 1930, astronomer and clockmaker Louis Zimmer (1888–1970) built the Jubilee (or Centenary) Clock, which is displayed on the front of the tower, and consists of 12 clocks encircling a central one with 57 dials. These clocks showed time on all continents, phases of the Moon, times of tides and many other periodic phenomena.
In 1980 the tower became a state-protected monument.
The original tower was built no later than 1425, though the precise date of construction is unknown. In 1812 the tower was sold by the municipal authorities, but after World War I, they repurchased it and slated it for demolition. In 1930 astronomer and clockmaker Louis Zimmer donated a complex clock which was installed in the old tower, which had to be substantially reconstructed for this. In honor of the astronomer the structure was renamed the Zimmer tower.
In 1960 a pavilion for the new clock was built next to the tower to present Zimmer's masterpiece the wonder-clock. (Dutch: Wonderklok). These wonder-clocks were prepared for the 1935 world exhibition in Brussels; later they were demonstrated in the US. Around one of these dials moves the slowest pointer in the world – its complete revolution will take 25800 years, which corresponds to the period of the precession of the Earth's axis. Subsequently, Zimmer attached to the clocks a mechanical planetarium. The wonder-clocks impressed Albert Einstein, who congratulated Zimmer on the creation of these unusual mechanisms.
On the small square at the foot of the tower an exhibition of the Solar System was arranged with the aid of metallic circles and the rings (circles designate the Sun and planets, rings the orbits of planets). These also show asteroids Felix (№ 1664) and Zimmer (№ 3064), which were named after Felix Timmermans and Louis Zimmer when discovered in 1929, and 1984. In 1980 the tower obtained the status of state protected monument. Now the Zimmer tower and pavilion with the wonder-clocks is a museum.
The Centenary clock has one large dial in the centre, measuring 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) in diameter. This dial shows the exact time (UTC+1; during daylight saving time UTC+2 is used instead). The twelve dials around the centre dial show the following (starting from the dial in the 2 o'clock position and going clockwise): the equation of time, the zodiac, the solar cycle and the dominical letter, the week, the globe, the months, the calendar dates, the seasons, the tides, the age of the Moon, the phases of the Moon and the Metonic cycle and the epact.
This dial shows the difference in minutes between the apparent solar time and the mean solar time. Positive values indicate that the apparent solar time is ahead (fast) of the mean solar time, with maxima around 3 November and 15 May. Negative values indicate that the apparent solar time is behind (slow) of the mean solar time, with a maximum lag around 12 February and 27 July.
The difference is zero four times a year; around 16 April, 15 June, 1 September and 25 December.
Hub AI
Zimmer tower AI simulator
(@Zimmer tower_simulator)
Zimmer tower
The Zimmer tower (Dutch: Zimmertoren) is a tower in Lier, Belgium, also known as the Cornelius tower, that was originally a keep of Lier's 14th-century city fortifications. In 1930, astronomer and clockmaker Louis Zimmer (1888–1970) built the Jubilee (or Centenary) Clock, which is displayed on the front of the tower, and consists of 12 clocks encircling a central one with 57 dials. These clocks showed time on all continents, phases of the Moon, times of tides and many other periodic phenomena.
In 1980 the tower became a state-protected monument.
The original tower was built no later than 1425, though the precise date of construction is unknown. In 1812 the tower was sold by the municipal authorities, but after World War I, they repurchased it and slated it for demolition. In 1930 astronomer and clockmaker Louis Zimmer donated a complex clock which was installed in the old tower, which had to be substantially reconstructed for this. In honor of the astronomer the structure was renamed the Zimmer tower.
In 1960 a pavilion for the new clock was built next to the tower to present Zimmer's masterpiece the wonder-clock. (Dutch: Wonderklok). These wonder-clocks were prepared for the 1935 world exhibition in Brussels; later they were demonstrated in the US. Around one of these dials moves the slowest pointer in the world – its complete revolution will take 25800 years, which corresponds to the period of the precession of the Earth's axis. Subsequently, Zimmer attached to the clocks a mechanical planetarium. The wonder-clocks impressed Albert Einstein, who congratulated Zimmer on the creation of these unusual mechanisms.
On the small square at the foot of the tower an exhibition of the Solar System was arranged with the aid of metallic circles and the rings (circles designate the Sun and planets, rings the orbits of planets). These also show asteroids Felix (№ 1664) and Zimmer (№ 3064), which were named after Felix Timmermans and Louis Zimmer when discovered in 1929, and 1984. In 1980 the tower obtained the status of state protected monument. Now the Zimmer tower and pavilion with the wonder-clocks is a museum.
The Centenary clock has one large dial in the centre, measuring 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) in diameter. This dial shows the exact time (UTC+1; during daylight saving time UTC+2 is used instead). The twelve dials around the centre dial show the following (starting from the dial in the 2 o'clock position and going clockwise): the equation of time, the zodiac, the solar cycle and the dominical letter, the week, the globe, the months, the calendar dates, the seasons, the tides, the age of the Moon, the phases of the Moon and the Metonic cycle and the epact.
This dial shows the difference in minutes between the apparent solar time and the mean solar time. Positive values indicate that the apparent solar time is ahead (fast) of the mean solar time, with maxima around 3 November and 15 May. Negative values indicate that the apparent solar time is behind (slow) of the mean solar time, with a maximum lag around 12 February and 27 July.
The difference is zero four times a year; around 16 April, 15 June, 1 September and 25 December.
Recent media