The Corpus Clock

A day in Cambridge. Wondering down a side street we came across a group of people busy photographing what appeared to be the corner of a building. When we got there the above is what had got their attention - The Corpus Clock.

The Corpus Clock is on the outside of the Taylor Library at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University looking out over King's Parade. It was conceived and funded by John C. Taylor, an old member of the college and was officially unveiled to the public on 19 September 2008 by Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking.

The clock's face is 24-carat gold-plated stainless steel disc, 1.5 metres in diameter. It has no hands or numbers, but displays the time by opening individual slits in the clock face backlit with blue LEDs. These slits are arranged in three concentric rings displaying hours, minutes, and seconds.

The clock is accurate only once every five minutes. The rest of the time, the pendulum may seem to catch or stop, and the lights may lag or, then, race to get ahead. According to Taylor, this erratic motion reflects life's irregularity.