Bulbdial:

Shadow Clock

Every now and again I discover a clock that I want to buy because its design is so unique and I don't believe in copying something. So, I bought the Bulbdial clock kit from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories (https://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/156).

"The Bulbdial Clock kit is based on an original design concept from IronicSans.com and developed at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories. It works like an indoor sundial, but with three shadows of different length. You tell the time just like you do on a normal clock, by reading the positions of the hour, minute, and second hands."

Bulbdial and its Clock Case

Video- Real Time and Time-lapse

This video requires some explanation for it to make sense. You need to know that there are 30 LEDs (not 60) employed to cast shadows for seconds (Blue) and minutes (Green). That means the second "hand" advances only once every 2 seconds and the minute "hand" advances only once every 2 minutes. The first part of the video is real time and it shows the second hand advancing in this manner. The last part of the video is time-lapse and it shows the second hand spinning rapidly around the clock face. Only after it completes two full cycles, i.e., 2 minutes, does the minute hand finally jump by two minutes. Of course this confusion wouldn't exist if there were 60 LEDs rather than 30 used to represent seconds and minutes. But that would have required a much bigger clock face and the designer probably had other reasons for doing it this way.

Instructions for Operating Bulbdial Clock