Incredible footage has revealed construction work underway for a clock that will tick for the next 10,000 years.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who has invested $42 million (£30 million) in the project, revealed the clip on social media.
It shows workmen installing the mechanism inside a hollowed out chamber in a West Texas mountain.
The clock, powered by Earth’s thermal cycles, will continue to keep time over the millennia, marking time with a chime once a day rather than each hour.
Its creators hope that this will encourage humanity to consider about their impact on the planet and act as a ‘symbol for long-term thinking’.
Incredible footage has revealed construction work underway for a clock that will tick for the next 10,000 years. It shows workmen installing the clock’s mechanism inside a hollowed out chamber in a West Texas mountain
The clock is the brainchild of Danny Hillis, who’s been thinking about and working on it since 1989.
Mr Hills wanted to build a clock that ticks once a year, where the century hand advances once every 100 years, and a cuckoo comes out on the millennium.
The clock is powered by a large weight hanging on a gear and is built out of stainless steel, titanium and dry running ceramic ball bearings.
It is buried 500 feet (150 metres) into a mountain in the Sierra Diablo range.
The clock’s chimes have been programmed to not repeat themselves for 10,000 years.
Each time the chimes ring, it’s a melody the clock has never played before.
While there is no completion date scheduled, Long Now Foundation behind its creation do plan to open it to the public once it is ready.
Visitors will able to climb down the stairs and hear the daily chime at noon.
Billionaire Bezos first got behind the project in 2011.
In a blog post about the project, Bezos wrote: ‘We are building a 10,000 Year Clock.
‘It’s a special Clock, designed to be a symbol, an icon for long-term thinking.
‘As I see it, humans are now technologically advanced enough that we can create not only extraordinary wonders but also civilization-scale problems.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who has invested $42 million in the project, revealed the clip on social media. Billionaire Bezos first got behind the project in 2011
The clock will continue to keep time over the millennia, marking time with a chime once a day rather than each hour. The clock is powered by a large weight hanging on a gear (pictured)
Its creators hope that this will encourage humanity to think about their impact on the planet over longer time scales. This image shows the hanging weight in place
‘We’re likely to need more long-term thinking.’
Carved into the mountain are five room-sized anniversary chambers, each marking one year, 10 years, 100 years, 1,000 years, and 10,000 years.
The one year anniversary chamber is a special orrery, a mechanical model of the solar system.
In addition to the planets and the Earth’s moon, it includes the interplanetary probes launched during the 20th century.
The Clock will activate and run the orrery once a year on a pre-determined date at solar noon.
The clock is the brainchild of Danny Hillis, who’s been thinking about and working on it since 1989. It is built out of stainless steel, titanium and dry running ceramic ball bearings. This image show a view down the 500 foot shaft that will house the mechanism
Mr Hills wanted to build a clock that ticks once a year, where the century hand advances once every 100 years, and a cuckoo comes out on the millennium. This image shows the mechanism being fitted in place
Carved into the mountain are five room-sized anniversary chambers, each marking one year, 10 years, 100 years, 1,000 years, and 10,000 years. This image shows a workman polishing parts of the steel and titanium mechanism
The team behind the project isn’t planning to build the animations for the 100, 1,000, and 10,000 year anniversary chambers.
Instead, they have built a mechanical interface into those chambers that provides leave those to future generations with power and the correct Clock triggering events to create their own.
They intend to build the animation for the 10 year anniversary chamber, but haven’t decided what it will be yet.
Seattle Solstice is part of the project and created a custom robotic saw to create a huge spiral staircase into the mountain rock.
The one year anniversary chamber is a special orrery, a mechanical model of the solar system. The Clock will activate and run the orrery (pictured) once a year on a pre-determined date at solar noon
In addition to the planets and the Earth’s moon, it includes the interplanetary probes launched during the 20th century. This image shows a model of the clock’s mechanism
The clock’s chimes (pictured) have been programmed to not repeat themselves for 10,000 years. Each time the chimes ring, it’s a melody the clock has never played before
Stuart Kendall, the firm’s director, said the project has the ‘same philosophy’ as the Egyptian pyramids.
About the project, creator Danny Hills said: ‘I cannot imagine the future, but I care about it.
‘I know I am a part of a story that starts long before I can remember and continues long beyond when anyone will remember me.
‘I sense that I am alive at a time of important change, and I feel a responsibility to make sure that the change comes out well.
‘I plant my acorns knowing that I will never live to harvest the oaks.’
The clock is being buried 500 feet (150 metres) deep inside a mountain in the Sierra Diablo range in west Texas
Carved into the mountain are five room-sized anniversary chambers, each marking one year, 10 years, 100 years, 1,000 years, and 10,000 years. This image shows construction work underway at the site
Seattle Solstice is part of the project and created a custom robotic saw to create a huge spiral staircase into the mountain rock. This image shows two workers involved in readying the mountain site
Visiting the clock will take a commitment. The nearest airport is several hours away by car, and the foot trail to the clock is rugged, rising almost 2,000 feet above the valley floor (pictured)