So at the Greenwich observatory in UK they have a red ball that drops or rises, and has done so for centuries, at the appointed time for thr benefit of maritime traffic in the vicinity. If one does away with the cannon (benefits, drawbacks), presumably such a mechanism cojld be made to accomplish a similar function with the ball?
You'd need an external energy source (no gunpowder) and a way to translate the beam of sunlight into a mechanical impulse (boiling water or heating a bimetallic strip maybe), but generally, yes of course.
