Section 02 · 6 entries
The Oscillator
A pendulum keeps time because its period depends on length and gravity and almost nothing else. Everything in this section is a consequence of that sentence, including all the trouble.
Entries in this section
- Why a Pendulum Keeps TimePeriod depends on length and gravity and almost nothing else — which is the whole reason it works, and also the source of every problem that follows.
- Circular ErrorPeriod drifts with amplitude unless the swing is small. Why regulator clocks swing so little.
- Temperature Changes the LengthA steel rod grows in summer and the clock loses. The problem stated plainly.
- Gridiron and MercuryTwo compensations using opposed expansion. Elegant, and superseded.
- The Alloy That Solved ItA material that barely expands, and what it did to precision timekeeping.
- The Balance and Its SpringA pendulum you can carry: what replaces gravity, and why the spring's material matters more than the wheel.