The Gearwork Prophets - Part 5: Zhang Heng’s Seismoscope: The First Earthquake Detector
The Gearwork Prophets: Mechanical Minds Before the Machine Age 1 The Gearwork Prophets - Part 1: The Antikythera Mechanism: The First Analog Computer 2 The Gearwork Prophets - Part 2: South-Pointing Chariot: The Inertial Guidance System 3 The Gearwork Prophets - Part 3: Heron’s Automation: Steam Engines & Holy Water Vending Machines 4 The Gearwork Prophets - Part 4: Archimedes' Mechanical Planetariums 5 The Gearwork Prophets - Part 5: Zhang Heng’s Seismoscope: The First Earthquake Detector ← Series Home Listening to the Earth’s Hidden Signals In the year 132 CE, during the Han Dynasty, the brilliant court astronomer Zhang Heng unveiled a device of profound scientific purpose. This ornate bronze urn, the world’s first seismoscope, was designed not merely to observe the heavens, but to listen to the very ground beneath the empire’s feet. The vessel was ringed by eight bronze dragons, each holding a small bronze ball in its jaw over a corresponding frog. When an earthquake occurred, even hundreds of miles away, the device would react, mechanically indicating the compass direction of the distant tremor. ...