The word I intended was lunge, not lung, obviously. Also, it's supposed to be "sine wave" not "sign wave".

Addendum to my post:

One might ask, why cyclical movement rather than linear movement? There were at least three types of linear measure used in the past: A burning rope with spaced knots, a burning candle and dripping water. These have obvious drawbacks. On the other hand, a cyclical standard does not need to be consumed, and the beginning and end of a cycle remains within close proximity to the observer.

To expand on my statement that some clocks don't have moving parts: Mechanical parts, yes. But even electronic clocks function by means of the movement of energy and matter. Electrons move through circuits, Logic gate resistance changes when an electrical potential is present or removed, which is movement in the atomic structure, even though slight.