The Underground Clocks of Paris

Поделиться
HTML-код
  • Опубликовано: 28 апр 2024
  • Get AnyDesk for free by visiting www.anydesk.com/primalspace
    Have you ever wondered how cities kept time before the era of electronic clocks? In this video, we'll dive into the fascinating story of the Paris underground clock system. Developed by Austrian engineer Victor Popp in the late 19th century, this ingenious system revolutionized timekeeping, ensuring that everyone in Paris was on the same time down to the minute. Join me as we explore the intricate workings of the master clock, the network of underground pipes, and the simple yet effective mechanisms of the clocks themselves, and don't forget to stick around until the end to find out how you can win in the next giveaway.
    Enter to win at the link below.
    primalnebula.com/giveaway/
    Short on time? Feel free to skip ahead in this video using the chapter links below.
    00:00 The Paris Pneumatic Clock Network
    00:51 The History of Keeping Time
    02:21 Understanding Mechanical Clocks
    03:08 Victor Popp's Master Clock
    04:50 Synchronizing the Clock System
    06:30 Paris Underground Clock System
    Thanks for watching this Primal Space video. If you enjoyed it, let me know in the comments below, and don't forget to subscribe so you can see more videos like this!
    Support Primal Space by becoming a Patron!
    / primalspace Twitter: / theprimalspace
    References:
    primalnebula.com/the-paris-pn...
    Written and edited by Ewan Cunningham ( / ewan_cee )
    Narrated by: Beau Stucki (www.beaustucki.com/)
    3D Modeler: Orkun Zengin
    Music used in this video:
    Symphony of Cold Blooded - Christian Andersen
    Sprighly Pursuit - Cooper Cannell
    Un Jour Etrange - Joe E. Lee
    Sunset Trails - DJ Williams
    Time Traveller - Tellsonic
    Eternal Garden - Dan Henig
    Double You - The Mini Vandals
    Oceans - Bobby Renz
    The English Affair - Howard-Harper Barnes
    #ParisClockSystem #VictorPopp #TimeKeeping
  • НаукаНаука

Комментарии • 1,7 тыс.

  • @primalspace
    @primalspace  2 месяца назад +167

    What do you think of this incredible system? Shoutout to AnyDesk for making this vid possible. Get it for free here: www.anydesk.com/primalspace

    • @bonkers774
      @bonkers774 2 месяца назад

      nah anydesk is what indians scammers use to trick people

    • @H-E-S-C
      @H-E-S-C 2 месяца назад +8

      Never knew this existed! Just amazing what they could do with the technology back then.

    • @VictarisGX
      @VictarisGX 2 месяца назад +3

      Fascinating, seemed ahead of its *time* (lol pun intended). Could have really changed the *face* of clockmaking! The U.S. could have replicated this for *hour*-selves! Want more puns? Come back for *seconds!* OK, OK, I'm done now. 😂

    • @jamesodonnell1130
      @jamesodonnell1130 2 месяца назад

      Ingenious as the system is, it could not compete with contemporary electrical systems. The flood merely exposed one of the weaknesses of maintaining a large scale system of pressurized air pipes. Electric (not electronic) wires were/are much simpler and cheaper to install and service, with very little impact on infrastructure. The self winding clock company in America also had the advantage of being able to synchronize individual clocks with observatory time over telegraph wires already in place. Like the canal system vs. the railway, it was really obsolete as soon as it was perfected, and I'm surprised it lasted four decades.

    • @Michael-iw3ek
      @Michael-iw3ek 2 месяца назад +4

      12 minutes per hour. Got it.

  • @BokoMoko65
    @BokoMoko65 2 месяца назад +1005

    This is the most steampunk tech that ever became reality.
    One can imagine those pulses of air engaging multiple relay pneumatic swichts. Human ingenuity

    • @shiro3146
      @shiro3146 Месяц назад +40

      now that we think about it
      even CPU of modern computer *use the same pulse principles, only it use Electric instead of air or steam and gear
      *:edited from sue

    • @user-sb5fm1gk7l
      @user-sb5fm1gk7l Месяц назад +7

      Uhmmm, clockpunk?

    • @shiro3146
      @shiro3146 Месяц назад

      @@user-sb5fm1gk7l i dont think theres a clockpunk?

    • @user-sb5fm1gk7l
      @user-sb5fm1gk7l Месяц назад +4

      @@shiro3146 There is. It is close to steampunk, but... clocks. Lots of gears turning.

    • @shiro3146
      @shiro3146 Месяц назад

      @@user-sb5fm1gk7l ah i see... new genre i just know, thanks for new info

  • @shuban863
    @shuban863 2 месяца назад +1835

    This system is sooo ingenious. It just shows how humans will always find a solution to every problem

    • @theultimatereductionist7592
      @theultimatereductionist7592 2 месяца назад +51

      Israel-Palestine has entered the chat.

    • @venerable_nelson
      @venerable_nelson 2 месяца назад +26

      There's a video from 1975 on a demonstration of a particular programming language (APL). The presenter was using a typewriter as the keyboard and monitor. That one blew my mind.

    • @Owlzz_
      @Owlzz_ 2 месяца назад +4

      Racism

    • @donnyestee
      @donnyestee 2 месяца назад +2

      If it's so ingenious, why is it not used anymore?? It sucked!

    • @Oxigenium1
      @Oxigenium1 2 месяца назад +48

      @@donnyestee no, air in these pneumatic system wasn't sucked. In fact, it was blowed, pushed away through pipes

  • @kevinbyrne4538
    @kevinbyrne4538 2 месяца назад +556

    (1) Even in the 21st century, a public clock that tells the correct time is a miracle.
    (2) Beautiful animations.

    • @Bobo-ox7fj
      @Bobo-ox7fj Месяц назад +39

      It's bizzare, given that anywhere you can get a GPS signal you have access to a time reading accurate to ~40 nanoseconds. Even if you only wanted to power up the GPS receiver once an hour, day, week for power saving... there's no excuse for a public clock to be out by more than a couple of seconds nowadays.

    • @testman9541
      @testman9541 Месяц назад +3

      (1) well in Europe most public clock run on DCF-77 since decades.😅 Plis as others said you have precise clock in any GNSS signal and a cheap module get you a second tick pin to sync your clock. 😊

    • @daltongalloway
      @daltongalloway Месяц назад +5

      Public clocks are usually only a few minutes out of sync with your phones clock. You act like they’re wildly off 😂

    • @kevinbyrne4538
      @kevinbyrne4538 Месяц назад +8

      @@daltongalloway -- Where I live, the clocks are indeed wildly out of synchrony. The clock on the city hall may read 11 a.m. The clock on the bank (a block away) has not yet been adjusted for the change from winter to summer time so it reads 10 a.m. The clock on the church (a block from city hall in the opposite direction) reads 10:53 a.m. The clock that stands on the street corner a block behind city hall reads 11:15 a.m. And on another street corner the clock has stopped completely. This is typical. So, will I be late or early for my 11 a.m. dentist appointment?

    • @MajSolo
      @MajSolo Месяц назад +2

      there are simple clocks that use the frequency on the power grid to tick the clock forward. When the grid is under peak load during daytime the frequency slow down when the power station machinery is under load. They use the night time to "catch up" and run with higher frequency. Most simple cheap office clocks, and clocks in schools and other public buildings are of this type and should keep the time if not damaged. ( or a power outage )

  • @tim31415
    @tim31415 2 месяца назад +187

    Given the compressibility of air and the invariable leaks of such an extensive system of pipes, it is amazing it actually worked.

    • @gutschke
      @gutschke 2 месяца назад +40

      Doing some basic back-of-the-enveloped calculations and making reasonable assumptions about the number of subscribers, the size of the network, and the expected losses, I am not sure I believe that there only is a single central source for all the compressed air. But I absolutely can believe that there is a single authoritative time source.
      As for a network of auxiliary compressors, it would be trivially easy to build repeating stations every so often. All you have to have is a reliable source for compressed air, and a valve that opens and closes whenever it detects a pulse from the master clock. And since this is the age of early electrification and of ubiquitous steam engines, we can assume that producing compressed air is a solved problem. So, it is plausible that the distribution network included some sort of repeaters as it expanded over larger parts of the Paris metropolitan region.
      With only marginally more effort, you could even build a mechanical "reclocking" device that regenerates the 20:40 duty cycle of the signal. You'd still obtain the sequence of pulses from the central clock, but you would regenerate the actual timing of each individual pulse from scratch. All of this can be done with straight-forward mechanical components.
      The beauty of this system is that the duty cycle doesn't need to be super precise, and neither does anybody care about phase shift nor jitter. So, a lot of problems that modern time-keeping solutions spend enormous resources on (c.f. atomic clocks and GPS) are completely out of scope and don't need to be addressed. The only thing that matters is generating precisely 1440 pulses of approximately 20s per day. And that's easy to do with a mechanical repeater.

    • @cardboardboification
      @cardboardboification 2 месяца назад +5

      its just a pulse of air, small leaks won't matter unless its more cfm then what is called for, their has to be a way for the pipe to depressurize, every clock might have a bleed hole , obviously if it is pressurized for 20 seconds, then off for 40 seconds to depressurize

    • @gutschke
      @gutschke 2 месяца назад +16

      @@cardboardboification I am sure that small leaks are actually part of the design requirements. The most basic design would use bellows in each subscriber's device that are somewhat leaky. This not only ensures that the bellows won't explode when the 20s pulse keeps inflating an already full airbladder, it also means that you don't need to add any extra mechanical components to deflate the bellows. 40s should be enough for air to leak out. The beauty of this system is that it is very tolerant of variations in bladder performance and variations in absolute flow rate.

    • @juliogonzo2718
      @juliogonzo2718 Месяц назад +1

      @@gutschke I think your idea makes sense. It would be fairly easy to have slave air compressors/reservoirs and control output through a slave valve actuated by a single master signal pipe.

    • @greenaum
      @greenaum Месяц назад +2

      @ke I dunno. Thousands of tiny leaks add up, and compressed air isn't free. They'd want to limit leaks to keep down the necessary size of the compressor's engine, and the fuel it would consume. You could put some sort of pressure switch into each clock, so that when the pressure falls, it opens a relief valve for the bellows. That's not in the design animated here but that seems like a simplification.
      They might just de-pressurise the system at the control centre. Have the outlet pipes connected to pressure for 20 seconds, then just connect them to an exhaust pipe for the other 40, let those little weights in all those clocks push the air back out again. If the pressure can reach every clock in 20 seconds, they should all be able to exhaust back to ambient in 40.
      You could keep the bellows from exploding with another valve activated by the bellows when they inflated to be high enough to trip a switch. Or else just do what pressure cookers do, for emergencies, have an outlet valve with a weight on it connected to the bellows, if pressure gets high enough to lift the weight, air escapes.

  • @KlaudiusL
    @KlaudiusL 2 месяца назад +721

    I'm amazed how they've build such a long and intricate pipe system at that time. Incredible

    • @bubblesculptor
      @bubblesculptor 2 месяца назад +51

      That's a huge array of pipes to keep pressurized!

    • @dieseldragon6756
      @dieseldragon6756 2 месяца назад +14

      @@bubblesculptor It would have been driven by a French built compressor. I can guarantee it would have been able to handle it... 💪🇫🇷🌬😁

    • @demog2882
      @demog2882 2 месяца назад +82

      Also, from todays perspective, it is wild that this was the cheaper solution compared to wires and electronic clocks!

    • @bubblesculptor
      @bubblesculptor 2 месяца назад +22

      @@demog2882 hard to imagine low-voltage wiring more expensive than pressurized pipes!

    • @zakaria2664
      @zakaria2664 2 месяца назад +3

      @@demog2882 I mean, how expensive can a tiny pipe be, next to nothing if not the markup.

  • @vortifyne
    @vortifyne 2 месяца назад +961

    Clocks have always intrigued me, this system was another brilliant invention!

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  2 месяца назад +22

      💯💯💯

    • @beedslolkuntus2070
      @beedslolkuntus2070 2 месяца назад +10

      Right? I’ve always loved those chiming pendulum clocks. They’re absolutely beautiful and bring back a certain unexplainable nostalgia for me. Then Big Ben was amazing to understand as well, now this!

    • @lpc9929
      @lpc9929 2 месяца назад

      The. I am infertile from eat scented candles.

    • @atlantic_love
      @atlantic_love Месяц назад +2

      My grandfather who died in 2013, was a jeweler from the 1950's up to the time he passed away. So almost 70 years. I ran the same jewelry store all that time.

    • @spvillano
      @spvillano Месяц назад

      I got bored with clocks when I was 9 and had disassembled Dad's Baby Ben alarm clock, then reassembled it - slightly more accurately in timekeeping.

  • @doggonemess1
    @doggonemess1 2 месяца назад +183

    Hearing about old technologies like this is always a breath of fresh air.

    • @DawnDavidson
      @DawnDavidson 2 месяца назад +13

      I see what you did there! 😂

    • @TheAnimeist
      @TheAnimeist Месяц назад +2

      That one almost blew right past me.

    • @doggonemess1
      @doggonemess1 27 дней назад +1

      @@TheAnimeist Glad to hear that I'm not always full of hot air.

  • @flyffless5883
    @flyffless5883 2 месяца назад +17

    I absolutely love the spirit of 1800's inventions. It feels like people were so inspired to solve the worlds problems with technology they had at the time.

  • @mr.monocle6271
    @mr.monocle6271 2 месяца назад +279

    This clock system is awesome. The amount of gears and small bits to keep track of is astounding… sometimes we take for granted the simplicity of electronic hardware today!

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  2 месяца назад +10

      So true.

    • @Daniel_VolumeDown
      @Daniel_VolumeDown 2 месяца назад +25

      what do you mean by "simplicity of electronic hardware"?

    • @Shako_Lamb
      @Shako_Lamb 2 месяца назад +9

      @@Daniel_VolumeDown I think that comment was meant to be sarcastic... I hope?

    • @crazy_mind-ox8if
      @crazy_mind-ox8if Месяц назад +5

      Just because you can't see the complexity of electronics doesn't mean its not there. Keep in mind those transistors are only a few atoms across, so sensitive than quantum mechanics can cause electrons to just teleport to places they shouldn't be. The machines that make them are so sensitive to vibrations, a truck driving by outside would cause the chips to be ruined. There was *some* simplicity to them back in the days of electron tubes and relays, but as soon as it went digital it became a manufacturing marvel.

    • @eekee6034
      @eekee6034 Месяц назад

      It's an interesting debate. I found myself thinking of all the electronic innovations to minimize difficulties and randomness, of which binary is possibly the very biggest. Designing an 8- or 16-bit computer in the 80s was relatively simple. Clock speeds were so low, you hardly had to know anything about the actual behaviour of electricity.
      However, there was genius behind that simplicity; I'm still baffled when I think about how binary logic and 2s-complement math were invented. And as speeds increased and the analog behaviour of electricity started impacting digital systems, more brilliance was needed.
      Op-amps are a comparable marvel of simplification in analog electronics. They're very easy to use, but not at all easy to design. (And again, high speed causes big problems.)
      In mechanical clocks, the basic design of the escapement doesn't vary much. Like digital electronics, it reduces a lot of variables to a series of discrete steps. However, I'm sure the design of an escapement must balance a lot of hidden issues.

  • @ll1881ll
    @ll1881ll 2 месяца назад +394

    Amazing story, and excellent graphics, excellent narration

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  2 месяца назад +12

      Thank you so much. So glad you enjoyed it!

  • @muradghazzawi5088
    @muradghazzawi5088 Месяц назад +7

    3:43 The anydesk throw me away 😂😂

  • @Zach-ln9mf
    @Zach-ln9mf 2 месяца назад +23

    Wait... so how did the timekeeper see the observatory clock?

    • @JPC4
      @JPC4 18 дней назад +7

      I was wondering this too and looked it up:
      "At the Paris Observatoire a high-standard astronomical regulator clock was kept running on correct mean time by astronomical transit observations, being corrected daily. Pulses of electricity were sent every second to secondary clocks around the city, the wires being run through ducts in the sewers. Two loops starting and ending at the Observatoire carried thirteen clocks between them, the farthest being at a distance of seven and a half kilometres, or nearly four and a half miles from the observatory. The clocks were of a high standard, so they could keep good time even if the synchronising pulses failed. (The pulses synchronised the clocks but did not drive them, they were weight-driven in the conventional way) The secondary clocks were furnished with second-hands, and were placed so that they could be easily seen from the street, usually in prominent positions. They further distributed time by sending electric signals once an hour to synchronise various public clocks. The system came into operation in 1878."
      So it appears that electronic synchronization was in use at this time but just not cost effective at the level for mass production. However, having a few extremely well made electronic clocks was worth the cost.

  • @whirly_bird
    @whirly_bird 2 месяца назад +121

    This and the monorail episode are departures from the usual space-themed content you put on this channel, but it’s really well done. I hope you continue making videos like this!

  • @antonig3566
    @antonig3566 2 месяца назад +77

    I didnt think such systems could ever be used, but as it turns out even the most crazy inventions could sometimes work really well

  • @donatelloh2o796
    @donatelloh2o796 Месяц назад +6

    As living in France, I would have loved to see these clocks still working today !

  • @weisswurster
    @weisswurster 2 месяца назад +108

    I really do appreciate how skillfully RUclipsrs transition into a sponsor ad

    • @175griffin
      @175griffin 2 месяца назад +17

      That was one of the most jarring and intrusive ad transitions I've ever seen.

    • @TheSwaroopB
      @TheSwaroopB 2 месяца назад +9

      This was so far the most unexpected, yet seamless and yet funny!

    • @Bobo-ox7fj
      @Bobo-ox7fj Месяц назад +1

      sponsorblock makes it even better

    • @sferg9582
      @sferg9582 Месяц назад

      Another thing to appreciate is the ability to drag the timeline past that ad and skip ahead to the content. 😉

  • @MongoosePreservationSociety
    @MongoosePreservationSociety 2 месяца назад +62

    Bro amazing commercial transition. I lol'd

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  2 месяца назад +2

      Haha thanks. Glad you enjoyed that one.

    • @GIPvideos
      @GIPvideos 2 месяца назад +13

      But he didn’t answer the question about how they were synced up.. how did the master clock see what the observatory clock was seeing?

    • @tommyvercetti7
      @tommyvercetti7 2 месяца назад +1

      @@GIPvideosagreed! Damn sponsor sections 😩

    • @dieseldragon6756
      @dieseldragon6756 2 месяца назад

      @@GIPvideos I can only speculate...But at that time the French were very good with optics. It may seem audacious for a distance of about 3-4km today (When you'd simply use an IP camera) but there's a fair chance the _Compagnie d'Horloges Pneumatique_ might've used a periscope with fixed focus to another at the Meudon end. 👁
      Get the mirrors in the right place and the magnification right (Which the French could do in their sleep) and checking the clock in Meudon is simply a case of « _Péréscope Haut!_ » 😁

    • @GIPvideos
      @GIPvideos 2 месяца назад

      @@dieseldragon6756 @tommyvercetti7
      I did some of my own research. The observatory had its own clocks around the city. But they ran on electricity and were too expensive for private use. One of those clocks was about 300M from the Popps office. So in the article it assumes that someone with a half decent pocket watch could set it to observatory time and then walk over to the office to make sure the pneumatic master clock was in sync

  • @lmaopew
    @lmaopew 2 месяца назад +79

    That's actually very smart and Ingenious idea!! But i do wonder, where the first air preasure from the master lock came from and how it's strong enough to reach whole paris.

    • @2ndfloorsongs
      @2ndfloorsongs 2 месяца назад +22

      Yes, I was wondering the same thing. I mean there were plenty of air compressors around at that time. They had diving suits all over. There was a large sponge harvesting industry in Indonesia that use them. The smaller boats had hand cranked compressors. So I'm not that amazed by the source, But, like you said, I'm amazed that they could get sufficient air flow through the pipes that were shown to reach a few kilometers. Maybe they had "amplifiers" along the way? Anyway, amazing stuff.

    • @memovilmx6239
      @memovilmx6239 2 месяца назад +7

      @@2ndfloorsongsnot only the distance but the timing. How to manage to circulate air in the whole system BY THE MINUTE (or withing the first 20 seconds)

    • @GeorgeS-fe7eh
      @GeorgeS-fe7eh Месяц назад +13

      The pressure differential was probably 8 bar or more so when the air is released it's like an explosion, it's close to speed of sound. Sure it takes a lot of air to inflate the bellows of all clocks but the change in pressure is very fast, is not gradual change, it's sudden

    • @DavidGPeters
      @DavidGPeters Месяц назад +9

      I believe it travels AT the speed of sound. Still, it would take a lot of air to power like thousands of clocks.

    • @archerkid02
      @archerkid02 Месяц назад +10

      ​@@memovilmx6239you don't have to have the pulses arrive at the same time everywhere, because they only broadcast the tempo. You'd still have to set each clock first to the correct start time. It's not like GPS clocks now that broadcast their exact time as well as the tempo signals. So if you cared about the seconds, you could probably rotate the clock face by one degree for every ten seconds behind you were. I'm guessing precision to the second wasn't that important though still yet.

  • @mrnevinmathews
    @mrnevinmathews 2 месяца назад +14

    The way he integrates pneumatic mechanisms with clockwork is simply mesmerizing. It's refreshing to see innovation in traditional timekeeping. Kudos to Victor for pushing the boundaries of what's possible!"

  • @nirmalprevin
    @nirmalprevin 2 месяца назад +13

    I ve always had an obsession for unnecessarily complex systems we used to have for something that we take for granted today...
    And this one checks all the marks thanks primal space

  • @mistrui6446
    @mistrui6446 2 месяца назад +39

    The folk that make meticulous things all throughout history such as clockwork or modern computers are great example of how smart humans are and the capability we have. great respect to those people.

    • @SakutoNoSAI
      @SakutoNoSAI Месяц назад

      The creative aspect strikes me most, the problem solving; shoot, autism can make you meticulous, I would know, but the frame of thinking which seeks to expand the horizon of unknowing is what impresses me. Humans rock.

    • @NightmareRex6
      @NightmareRex6 Месяц назад +1

      @@SakutoNoSAInow imagine waht humanity could achive if the barrior known as "money" could somehow be removed but ppl still work and produce without any tyranny or governmenttal intervention?

  • @pfranken
    @pfranken 2 месяца назад +71

    Just how do you do that? In this day and age when almost everything has been seen at least once by everyone, you still manage to surprise me with something I've never heard of. This is so Steampunk.

    • @seekingthelovethatgodmeans7648
      @seekingthelovethatgodmeans7648 2 месяца назад +4

      or compressed-air-punk?

    • @TheNightshadePrince
      @TheNightshadePrince 2 месяца назад +1

      Correction, clock punk!

    • @mikeoxmall69420
      @mikeoxmall69420 2 месяца назад

      ​@@seekingthelovethatgodmeans7648compressorpunk

    • @Ashleyhru
      @Ashleyhru 2 месяца назад

      all falls down under the same thing! Steampunk! Whatever, just steampunk!

    • @TheNightshadePrince
      @TheNightshadePrince 2 месяца назад +1

      @@Ashleyhru No clock punk and steam punk are very different, that's like equating solar punk with cyberpunk.

  • @3AgL3DeeJay
    @3AgL3DeeJay Месяц назад +3

    The most clever and well placed sponsor segment ever! I've watch the Anydesk part twice just for that. Hats off to you sir!

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  Месяц назад +1

      haha thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed that one.

  • @gurkenburg.
    @gurkenburg. 2 месяца назад +5

    I find it always so fascinating how complicated we can think if we really have to solve a problem. This is such a good example!

  • @randomcritic3652
    @randomcritic3652 2 месяца назад +44

    Sooo, why did the clock stop on Jan 21, 1910?
    And how the air waves travelled long distances still capable of moving the arrows in hundreds on clocks? The more clocks you connect, the more powerful air burst you need, isn't that right? This video made me ask more questions than it itself answered, lol.

    • @gelber_kaktus
      @gelber_kaktus Месяц назад +5

      I think a pipe was destroyed in the flood, or the master clock damaged.

    • @sebastiannielsen
      @sebastiannielsen Месяц назад +15

      No, you don't need a "more powerful air burst". Since its a sealed, enclosed system, it just meant, you needed a longer airburst. The airburst of 20 seconds were enough to move all clocks on each "branch".
      When all clocks on a branch were "full", the system would just build pressure without using it, and release the pressure out of some safety valve or similiar.
      Think like this, you put 1 baloon on a air compressor. It takes pretty quick to blow it up.
      Repeat same thing with 100 baloons. You would still be able to blow it up, it would just take 100x longer time. You don't need more pressure or more power for that.
      So as long as each branch were limited to a specific number of clocks, it would work fine. Note how there was a large pipe connecting to several smaller pipes, this ensured so each branch shared the same air amounts. Yes, if one branch got 1 clock too much, it would "steal" air from another branch eventually, so there was a upper limit how many clocks the whole network took.
      Thats why it was connected to a fee, because if too many clocks were connected, no clocks would work. So they needed to limit adoption, thats why there was a fee. If too many users would still join the system, they would need to elongate the time the system worked by increase the area of the airbrake so the valve would remain open for a longer time than 20 seconds.
      But they couldn't enlongate the airbrake previously, because if the system closed the valve too late, there was too few clocks to release air pressure quickly enough to ensure it was ready for another minute when the next pressure wave came. So the pressure advancer would be in a "open position" all the time. Thats why the airbrake needed to be adopted for the number of clocks on system, so if too few clocks were active, they would need a shorter open time, and if too many clocks are there, they would need to elongate the open time.

    • @Bobo-ox7fj
      @Bobo-ox7fj Месяц назад +5

      @@sebastiannielsen Another source mentions that they later expanded to a second facility for greater pressure generation, so presumably if this had caught on in a big way they would have ended up with air stations dotted all over the place operating relatively few clocks per unit. Perhaps the substations would even be synchronized to a higher master clock in the same manner.

    • @sebastiannielsen
      @sebastiannielsen Месяц назад +1

      @@Bobo-ox7fj Not greater pressure. More flow, more liters per second. Putting lot of pressure in the system wont help.
      Think like this: Connecting a wheelnut gun requiring 5 bar to a compressor. If you connect 10 such guns, you dont need more pressure - its not like you need 50 bar.
      You however need much more liters per second at 5 bar.

    • @bluecar5556
      @bluecar5556 Месяц назад

      ​@@sebastiannielsenI've been in automotive industry for decades. Never have I heard someone call an impact a wheelnut gun. I'm writing that one down.

  • @santiagoalvarez7536
    @santiagoalvarez7536 Месяц назад +3

    It's amazing how they managed to find the solutions back in the day, 1min for a city the size of Paris is not really an issue. Wish they would've left at least one at display!

  • @MeriaDuck
    @MeriaDuck 2 месяца назад +44

    That AnyDesk seque was hilarious! And what a cool system, never knew it existed! It's so... steampunk!

  • @SuperScream2011
    @SuperScream2011 2 месяца назад +2

    Popp was way ahead of his time! So amazing! I think the best thing about this is the fact that the city contracted him to keep everybody in sync. I'd be so proud of my job.

  • @albertogarciaengineer3053
    @albertogarciaengineer3053 2 месяца назад +7

    Can't imagine the pressure drop at the end of the tubes or what they did to deal with leaks... Very cool!

    • @billmoran3812
      @billmoran3812 2 месяца назад +6

      There is theoretically no pressure drop since it was a closed system. Leaks were inevitable, however as long as they were kept to less than the amount necessary to pressurize the system for each pulse, they had no effect. The leak would be detected by the clocks that appeared out of sync.

    • @juliogonzo2718
      @juliogonzo2718 Месяц назад

      @@billmoran3812 if you had many small lines manifolded out of one big one, I would imagine a large leak on one of the small lines would cause issues with all the others and be complicated and time consuming to isolate. You would have to one by one leakdown test each circuit to detirmine which was leaking

  • @ashleysveto2641
    @ashleysveto2641 Месяц назад +3

    Anydesk sounds like a hackers paradise

  • @trojanthedog
    @trojanthedog Месяц назад +2

    I have always admired pneumatic systems. They were robustly used in many cities up to WW2. Their remnants lurk under a 1000 streets.

  • @MichaelGrantPhD
    @MichaelGrantPhD Месяц назад +2

    That was the best cut to an advertisement I've yet heard. I lol'ed... and didn't skip the ad. Well done

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  Месяц назад +1

      Haha thanks. Glad you enjoyed that one.

  • @mrwhatshisname
    @mrwhatshisname Месяц назад +3

    0:30 missed chance to say that they "popped" up all around the city

  • @carolbuzelim
    @carolbuzelim Месяц назад +9

    Awesome system, 1880…ppl were way smarter

    • @artavenuebln
      @artavenuebln Месяц назад +2

      No.

    • @Fx_-
      @Fx_- Месяц назад +7

      As you type on a phone of which there are millions grooves and circuits… of which there are millions….of which are multiple times more complex than air pumped clocks on pipes.

  • @user-bx8mt8oj4d
    @user-bx8mt8oj4d Месяц назад +1

    The genius mind of people at that time to make a system out of the analog system and calibrate to the minimum error , is just so wonderful. On top of that the amazing video and the capability of @primalspace to explain complex systems with ease is just amazing

  • @FlickFusion_14
    @FlickFusion_14 Месяц назад +1

    the person who made this system is a genius.
    And some cities should have this amazing thing as a history.

  • @DinkyPattern1
    @DinkyPattern1 Месяц назад +3

    Imagine one gear is melted wrong...

  • @TheWaffle2
    @TheWaffle2 2 месяца назад +2

    Well done explaination of the Paris synchronized clock system. Made me remember the Simplex clocks when I was In school. Every classroom had the same synchronized time. I guess by then it was electronic pulses instead of air.

  • @JOELwindows7
    @JOELwindows7 2 месяца назад +3

    The first / earliest ever Network Time Clock?!?! Whoahow!!

  • @EQMVB
    @EQMVB Месяц назад +6

    never heard about this. Thank you. Today's history classes are filled with woke nonsense instead of real history.

    • @GinkuiMain
      @GinkuiMain Месяц назад +5

      Define "woke nonsense"

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  Месяц назад

      Glad you enjoyed the topic of this video. Thanks for watching.

  • @JESUS230496
    @JESUS230496 Месяц назад +1

    As an intrigued person who likes organization, this is pleasing. As an engineer this got me crazy. As a project manager is sort of makes sense and really inspired of this.

  • @flytothemoon50
    @flytothemoon50 Месяц назад +3

    The animation so beautiful, as an engineer and technician I touch by how it stands the time for almost 50 years. A marvel time piece. 😊

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  Месяц назад +1

      Thank you so much. Really glad you enjoyed the video!

  • @hhidd
    @hhidd 2 месяца назад +1

    Thank u Nanami, very cool!
    Very on brand of you to talk about time keeping. can't go into overtime!

  • @guineapigboy4551
    @guineapigboy4551 2 месяца назад +1

    I can't believe that puffs of air worked so well for this ingenious invention!

  • @dshack4689
    @dshack4689 Месяц назад +1

    the animations in this video are so clear and accurate, some of the most educational ones I've ever seen by seperating parts to allow individual understanding before relating it back to the whole workings, well done!

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  Месяц назад +1

      Thank you so much. I'm really glad you enjoyed the video - your comment means a lot! Thanks for watching and good luck in the giveaway!

  • @thorninmyside1
    @thorninmyside1 Месяц назад +1

    As someone who likes to work on his own watches, this system is amazing! It would be interesting to hear what else the mind of this inventor came up with in his life. Thank you for sharing this fascinating information!!

  • @FrostyTheOne_
    @FrostyTheOne_ 2 месяца назад +1

    Problems are not a bug, but a feature. This quote absolutely fits in

  • @axeonee
    @axeonee Месяц назад

    Human ingenuity never ceases to amaze me

  • @facu6706
    @facu6706 2 месяца назад +1

    I love your explanation and animation, very ingenious and with amazing mechanical mastery, it makes me very curious how you will deal with losses and possible rebound effects

  • @AudioPhil96
    @AudioPhil96 2 месяца назад +3

    This is awesome. This reminds me of a friend who once said that it would sometimes be better to stay with a mechanical link than to replace it with electrical signaling, and under some circumstances I think he's right. And this adds a whole new aspect to the steampunk genere, imagine all the systems that could be synchronized... :D

  • @AlienWavesTV
    @AlienWavesTV Месяц назад +1

    Great engineering. A spectacle of what can be done with whatever is at hand, not waiting for future

  • @LinyaS2
    @LinyaS2 2 месяца назад

    I never knew about the existence of this mechanism, it is phenomenal, ingenious and relatively "simple"
    mechanical inventions are fabulous.

  • @user-iu1fr3mb2h
    @user-iu1fr3mb2h 2 месяца назад +3

    An amazingly simple system, way ahead of its time! I do wonder however what the maximum range of these pneumatic clocks would have been, considering Popp used 0.75 bar and lines ranging from 20 to 6 mm...

  • @Meme-Only372
    @Meme-Only372 Месяц назад +1

    I never thought clocks had been working underground.Its amazing till where humanity has evolved.

  • @brunomorenomata7978
    @brunomorenomata7978 2 месяца назад

    I find incredible that they managed to build such a large compressed air system that could work without many leaks. I am studying fluid dynamics and still find interesting how the pressure wave could propagate through a whole city in a matter of minutes. Very good and well made video! Thanks as allways Primal Space!

  • @DanJoshy007
    @DanJoshy007 2 месяца назад

    It's so amazing that we could do these kind of complex mechanisms in the late 1920's. I hope it's value is still been conserved somewhere.

  • @karthikmukund9526
    @karthikmukund9526 2 месяца назад

    We take accurate timekeeping for granted now, but incredible to see how this beautifully thought out, and engineered mechanical device enabled business and ushered in the modern age for such a big and important city as Paris! The master clock should be preserved in museums to educate children on the simplicity and elegance of mechanical timekeepers, with a working cut-out model like the one you showed here. Incredible to think this could survive an EMP attack!

  • @j7ndominica051
    @j7ndominica051 3 часа назад

    I'm impressed with the complexity of "clockwork" mechanisms that existed before electronics. Somehow all the parts had to be made the right size to fit together.

  • @seedschi
    @seedschi 2 месяца назад

    Wow, I didn't know that such a system existed. Very cool and genious engineering for that time! Thanks for the extraordinary video quality, especially for the animations.

  • @RandyK1ng
    @RandyK1ng Месяц назад

    This is excellent, thank you. I absolutely love clocks of all sizes. At college in Southern Ohio, I weasled myself in charge of the so-called South Green Tower Clock, which had 4 faces and each hour hand was 7 feet long. It was all electric, but I lubricated things, re-sync'ed with the WWV radio signal, and changed out the clockface lightbulbs. It also had an amplified bell toll (Westminster Quarters) that I programmed to play between noon and 9PM because no one in college wants to be woken before the crack of noon. I've also built Regulator-style clocks and worked on in-building master clocks. Just fascinated with clocks. I was scratching my head on this pneumatic system because of the lag. But, if you think about it, all of the clocks will be in the same minute within the minute. Back then seconds were unnecessary. :)

  • @n-rajesh
    @n-rajesh 2 месяца назад

    Excellent animation and narration style. It is wonderful to get insights into the very first system where the in-app subscription model truly began!

  • @AviationStuff123
    @AviationStuff123 Месяц назад +1

    This system has a simple concept but such complex mechanics, truly amazing! 🤩

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  Месяц назад

      Amazing indeed! So glad you agree!

  • @thomasellis1814
    @thomasellis1814 24 дня назад

    Omg this was superrrr amazing like wow 😮😮❤. Also I love the way you introduced. The ad. Actually watched the whole thing and photo pretty cool as well.

  • @freeways3947
    @freeways3947 Месяц назад

    I dearly love the ingenuity of the human mind.. that was one of the main reasons I truly enjoy this awesome collection of videos

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  Месяц назад

      Thank you so much. I'm so glad that you enjoy the content and feel the same way about the human mind. So much to learn, share, and be in awe of!

  • @milanvrankic9358
    @milanvrankic9358 Месяц назад

    Mechanical clocks are the most amazing invention ever made. Pure ingenuity, just amazing.
    Also great animations as always!

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  Месяц назад

      Thank you! So glad you enjoyed the video

  • @philippefenain4405
    @philippefenain4405 2 месяца назад

    Such a clever system ! And I have been leaving years in Paris without knowing there were still traces of it !
    Thanks for the discovery !

  • @Chrisg288
    @Chrisg288 Месяц назад

    I think it is incredible that the education existed to design such a great system, including that master clock.. and the Anydesk looks great too. I used VM Horizon to work at home for the last 3 years..

  • @djsusmith
    @djsusmith 2 месяца назад

    This is such a cool piece of history! It's amazing to think about how something so innovative shaped everyday life in Paris for decades. Thanks for sharing this gem!

  • @iannickCZ
    @iannickCZ 2 месяца назад +1

    Simple and effective. Masterpiece of engineering. I think the clocks at the edge of the city were quite late, but brobably within one minute range.

  • @alexandredeoliveirapenna198
    @alexandredeoliveirapenna198 Месяц назад

    Very clever system! The nice about it is its simplicity, what reflects in his reliability. Thanks!

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  Месяц назад

      And thank you for watching. Glad you enjoyed it and good luck in the giveaway!

  • @TShark1012
    @TShark1012 Месяц назад

    What an elegant solution for an issue that allowed for progress in so many other areas of a “modern” city.
    GREAT VIDEO! Reinforces my understanding of timekeeping to an area that I hadn’t given much thought to. Thanks.
    Tshark Dallas TX

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  Месяц назад

      Thank you so much! So glad that you enjoyed the video. Good luck in the giveaway!

  • @sebastiendine4834
    @sebastiendine4834 Месяц назад

    I knew the pneumatic messaging system in Paris and elsewhere but I have never heard of that system for synchronizing the clocks! Amazing. Thanks a lot.

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  Месяц назад

      Thank you for watching. So glad you enjoyed the video.

  • @xiro6
    @xiro6 2 месяца назад

    Had no idea, a nice surprise.
    The hope i will still find new thing of this kind i have a touch on.
    Never heard of it at all.
    Many many thanks for bing it here.

  • @Fribonansa
    @Fribonansa Месяц назад

    We take so much for granted today it's amazing how problems like this where solved in the past

  • @nemo-x
    @nemo-x 2 месяца назад +3

    Honestly this was a suboptimal solution but absolutely amazing. I personally ADORE network systems specialized for something. There is just something satisfying about different sorts of signals and things and liquids being carried around along the same routes and tunnels in networks.... instead of just one cable for internet, one for electricity and one for water.

    • @engineer0239
      @engineer0239 Месяц назад

      water cables?

    • @nemo-x
      @nemo-x Месяц назад +1

      @@engineer0239 you know what i meant :P

  • @Kosahdus
    @Kosahdus 2 месяца назад +1

    Outstanding Performance

  • @ssourbacie715
    @ssourbacie715 2 месяца назад

    These Clocks seem to work extremely well
    And this is a great video

  • @crazyivan030983
    @crazyivan030983 2 месяца назад

    Wow. Human ingenuity is limitless.

  • @Digital111
    @Digital111 2 месяца назад +1

    This is fascinating! Never knew this existed! At that time Paris must have been the most on-time city in the world!

  • @garrettclaytonmoore
    @garrettclaytonmoore 2 месяца назад

    Such a fascinating system! Thanks for visualizing it.

  • @hridaanshugusain474
    @hridaanshugusain474 2 месяца назад

    Such an incredible piece of innovation

  • @coriscotupi
    @coriscotupi Месяц назад

    Paris has always been a city ahead of its time (no pun intended). The spectacular metro system was up & running decades before those of other large cities. The synced clocks couldn't deserve a better place to be showcased.

  • @robertdenson3139
    @robertdenson3139 Месяц назад

    Fascinating, the ingenuity of man, no wonder the wheels are coming off the bus.

  • @GameplayOkee
    @GameplayOkee Месяц назад

    I wasn't expecting this. It's incredibele what system they have built.

  • @harlemslut
    @harlemslut 2 месяца назад

    Just when you think you know all there is in historical milestones. This is brilliant. As soon as I saw the title I stopped what I was doing and watched it. Absolutely ingenious. Best content I’ve watched all month.

  • @blendpinexus1416
    @blendpinexus1416 Месяц назад

    i love this engineered solution to what could have been a pretty difficult problem.

  • @Samonie67
    @Samonie67 2 месяца назад

    i really like finding different methods of powering things like these pneumatic powered clocks

  • @user-rx3dl2vo5e
    @user-rx3dl2vo5e 2 месяца назад +5

    The underground clocks of Paris are truly remarkable. These tunnels represent an incredible feat of engineering, showcasing impressive architectural achievements. Exploring them offers a profound experience, providing insights into their construction and history. Learning about new concepts while watching these kinds of videos is truly amazing.

    • @David-um8tb
      @David-um8tb 2 месяца назад +3

      Pretty sure this comment was written by AI.

  • @TheSwaroopB
    @TheSwaroopB 2 месяца назад

    Great job with animations, explanation and obviously the beautiful ad segue! Incredible system, indeed, but all I was thinking about was: leaks!! I'm sure it would have been a challenge to detect and fix them all across the city! Water leaks are at least visible. But air? That's a different ballgame! Kudos to the designers and implementers who successfully kept it working over decades.

  • @simontabz
    @simontabz Месяц назад

    I definitely didn't know about this system... I also love how entertaining and educational this is despite not being your usual subject! This channel could definitely be expanded! And wow, a sponsor I will actually use! This is great!

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  Месяц назад

      Thank you so much! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it. Space is always going to be my biggest passion, but there are so many other topics I find super interesting and can't help but share every now and then. Thanks for watching and good luck in the giveaway!

  • @mrfranek
    @mrfranek Месяц назад +1

    It was very well thought and made project and worth to remind! Thanks for video😀

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  Месяц назад +1

      And thank you for watching. So glad you enjoyed it.

  • @pietgdgc
    @pietgdgc Месяц назад

    wow. i really learned something again. i was not aware about this clock system and how it could ensure that multiple clocks would stay in sync. Thanks for the clear and detailed explination.

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  Месяц назад

      And thank you so much for watching. Really glad that you enjoyed this topic and learned something new!

  • @caloycaloycaloy
    @caloycaloycaloy Месяц назад +2

    You had me with that “anydesk”. After that anydesk word I literaly said “wait how the hell..” 😂

  • @AaronDoesVO
    @AaronDoesVO Месяц назад

    Honestly, the ingenuity of generations before us blows my mind!

  • @jimvinculado9202
    @jimvinculado9202 2 месяца назад

    Amazing engineering. This video shows the problem solving part of engineering like what do you do to solve the fast decrease in elevation of the mass.

  • @sriramadharapurapu2262
    @sriramadharapurapu2262 Месяц назад

    What an amazing invention, it shows the one thing that humans are amazing at "ingenuity". And a very amazing video, explaining about how the machine works❤

  • @user-rp2fd7lw9r
    @user-rp2fd7lw9r Месяц назад +1

    Dude you just killed me with the joke @3:45

  • @anuragmate
    @anuragmate 2 месяца назад

    Was hooked on your videos since December of 23. Now I impatiently waits for the Primal Space new videos. Keep up the awesome work. Love from India.

    • @primalspace
      @primalspace  2 месяца назад +1

      Thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear that you've been enjoying the content and have been watching for so long. It really means a lot!

    • @anuragmate
      @anuragmate 2 месяца назад

      @@primalspace ♥️

  • @ajbluesh377
    @ajbluesh377 2 месяца назад +1

    Wow.....the imagination it took to come up with this concept is amazing!