Earthquake Detector (地动仪)
David Young
When and who invented it?
zhang heng was an astronomer, mathematician, and engineer, geographer, and inventor who created this invention in AD 132, during the Han Dynasty.
What was the reason to invent it?
The earthquake sensor was created to predict earthquakes and volcanoes from far-distance locations, and to help the current rulers know where the locations of natural disasters would occur in their location.
How does it work?
First there is a spring and weight suspended from a frame that moves along with the earth's surface. Next, when earthquakes cause a vertical shift in the frame, the eight balls that were in the dragons clasp, would fall into the mouths of toads, causing a loud reverberating sound to occur.
Fun Facts
Also known as the Seismometer or the Houfeng, when it was originally invented, many did not believe the device to actually work, but years later, it became popular and startled many officials in the palace. In 2005, scientists made a replicate of the original machine to detect different earthquakes in China and Vietnam.
Summary
Different inventions may have made its way to Europe is of course, through the Silk Road.The Silk Road was a network of routes, formally established during the Han Dynasty of China that linked China to Europe. It may have took so long for the invention to spread was because it was not necessary and earthquakes were not common. Also since the distance was so great, it took some time for the trade to actually occur. To add, people in the west gave credit to other Europeans, because most Europeans believed Chinese people were barbarians, mainly due to the Mongols, and many different European scholars tried to change the design and figure out how to make their own and improve on it.
3D Models Zhang Heng Seismoscope China 3D model from CGTrader.com