Clock made from a whirling, strobing hard-drive

This Strobeshnik clock is made from an old hard drive: "The digits are etched in the original platter and they're strobed from behind with leds. The HDD motor is driven by a custom circuit without feedback, hence poor startup performance and awful noise. Rotational feedback is provided by an IR LED/phototransistor pair near the place where the head arm formerly was."

The result is a whirling, grinding, eye-catching, unreadable kinetic sculpture. Now that's a timepiece!

Strobeshnik (final) (via JWZ!)

Previously:

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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ill lich

If you can’t really use it to tell time, how is it a “clock?”
Paladdin

That hex-counting VFD in the background is the final touch :D
jazzbo

This clock must be placed on a webcam so the entire world can bask in its awesomeness as we check to see how late we are for dinner!
The irony is boggling! Digital reverted to analog clock! Want!
JayConverse

Cute, but the noise it makes is painful.