PLN 5

What matters in the world today, is a clock that is made to last ten thousand years, the 10,000 year clock. This clock, when it is finished, will stand approximately 68 ft high, and the main display, showing all years until 12000, is 20 ft in diameter. The display will rotate 31 times through the 10,000 year period. The clock is also programmed to play a different chime everyday until the ten thousand years are complete. The clock is strictly mechanical; it keeps time by tracking the sun everyday at noon. The clock also tracks the planets in our solar system using equations that correspond to the path around the sun. All of the algorithms and designing were first dreamed up by Danny Hillis, current designer of supercomputers. This clock matters because even when humans are no longer around, it will still be running. While other batteries will die, this clock runs on solar power only. Yet there are some flaws in the mechanism. It cannot tell you what time it is right now, only the date. The clock measures in days, months and years instead of seconds and hours. So if you where to visit the clock, you would be able to check the date, where the planets are, and listen to the chimes and that is about it. The other problem with the design is, if there is a cloudy day the clock will become slightly off track. Another problem is that if something breaks in 5,000 years, no one will remember how to fix it and the cause will be lost. The clock is a good idea and will be really cool when it is done, but it still has some flaws that need to be worked out.