Amazon titan Jeff Bezos is allocating $42 million (approximately ₹350 crore) towards the construction of an extraordinary clock nestled within the heart of a mountain in West Texas. Dubbed the 10,000-Year Clock, the timepiece is engineered to tick once annually and chime once every millennium. Bezos recently unveiled a time-lapse video of the clock's construction via his X-handle, shedding light on the project's progress. The brainchild behind this monumental clock is Danny Hillis, an entrepreneur and computer scientist who conceived the idea in 1986.
Massive scale and unique features
Standing tall at a striking 500 feet, the clock harnesses the Earth's thermal cycles to power its mechanical intricacies. It integrates a solar synchronizer, pendulum, and chime generator. Synchronized daily with the sun at noon, it tracks the year, century, and millennium. Its chime generator offers over 3.5 million distinct bell chime sequences, ensuring each day resonates uniquely.
Reportedly, the clock houses five room-sized anniversary chambers, individually dedicated to marking the 1-year, 10-year, 100-year, 1,000-year, and 10,000-year milestones. These chambers serve as encapsulated spaces for time-centric artifacts and messages about the future of humanity. While the first chamber displays a scaled model of the solar system, the rest are intended for contributions from future generations.
Vision and challenges
Bezos' motivation stems from a perspective advocating extended contemplation and responsibility, in alignment with Hillis' vision. However, crafting a clock to endure for 10,000 years poses significant engineering hurdles, demanding precision, resilience, and adaptability to environmental conditions.
The completion date of the 10,000-Year Clock remains unknown, and it currently remains off-limits to the public. Situated within the Sierra Diablo range of West Texas, concerns linger regarding the project's environmental impact on the surrounding landscape. Despite these apprehensions, Bezos stands resolute in his belief that this grand timepiece will serve as a beacon, inspiring future generations to transcend temporal boundaries and contemplate the vastness of time.
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