'Time Eater' clock reveals fascinating mechanism

A £1m clock called the "time eater" has been unveiled at Cambridge University by Professor Stephen Hawking. The clock has been designed by John Tayor - horologist and inventor whose thermostatic switch is incorporated in millions of electric appliance worldwide - the clock features a novel twist on the grasshopper escapement pioneered by John Harrison. Harrison invented the grasshopper escapement in the early 18th Century, which resulted in extremely accurate mechanical time keeping and was instrumental in solving the 'Longitude Problem.'

"I also wanted to depict that time is a destroyer - once a minute is gone you can't get it back. That's why my grasshopper is not a Disney character. He is a ferocious beast that over the seconds has his tongue lolling out, his jaws opening, then on the 59th second he gulps down time," said Taylor.