It seems that time-telling is evolving at pretty much the same pace as the rest of the technologies that surround us; and if you need very strong proof, here's the Fountain Clock from the Japanese station of Kanazawa. If you were by any chance in search of the most interesting and mind-boggling clocks or even fountains, this one should definitely be on your list. Located just outside the main entrance to the Kanazawa station, the Kanazawa Fountain Clock has been placed in full public view. It looks like a giant digital clock, with white digits on a black background... unless there is more to it than meets the eye.

 

What makes the Kanazawa Station Fountain Clock so special is its unique technology used to display the digits.

 

Instead of a screen or lighting elements, the Kanazawa Station Fountain Clock uses small jets of water. A plethora of such small jets are loaded on the black background, in a terraced manner, for maximal visibility. A computer guides the opening and closing of these valves so the jets they throw in the air at a very small height form numbers and even letters. Water flows back into a tank after being filtered from any potential impurities and is then cycled back in this amazing clock.

 

But there is more: the computer of the Kanazawa Station Fountain Clock can be easily programmed to control the number, arrangement and opening of the entire valve-matrix, so figures more complex than digital numbering can be represented. And by all means the Japanese are using this capability, making the Kanazawa Station Fountain Clock display all sorts of text messages in both English and Japanese, entertaining the tourists and informing travelers and passers-by.

 

A future improvement of the Kanazawa Station Fountain Clock could mean loading some LED lighting elements inside the valves, to benefit from the prismatic illumination capabilities of water jets and put up a breathtaking water and lights show. Check this page for a video of the Kanazawa Station Fountain Clock made by an European tourist.

 

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