Time and Clocks: A Description of Ancient and Modern Methods of Measuring TimeCunynghame, Henry H. (Henry Hardinge), Sir
Philosophy
Time and Clocks: A Description of Ancient and Modern Methods of Measuring Time
Cunynghame, Henry H. (Henry Hardinge), Sir
Clocks and watches; Time
The lever has a spring _K E_ fastened to it at the point _K_. This
spring is very delicate. If the lever _C D_ is turned so that the
little projection _M_ on it strikes the spring _E_ from left to right,
then, as the spring rests on the lever, the whole lever is pushed over,
and the teeth of the scape wheel set free. At that instant, however,
the escapement is so arranged that the arm _C D_ is just opposite
the tooth _D_ of the scape wheel, so that the scape wheel, instead
of running away, leaps with its tooth _D_ on to the lever _C D_ and
swings the balance wheel round. The balance wheel is free to twist as
much as it pleases, but the moment it has twisted so much that the
projection _M_ passes the spring _E_, then the lever _G E_ flies back
to its place, and the scape wheel is again checked. Meanwhile the
balance wheel flies round till at last it is brought to rest by the
balance spring. It then recoils and sets out on its return path. This
time, however, the projection _M_ merely flips aside the spring _E_
and the balance wheel goes back, till again it is brought to rest and
returns. As soon as the lever comes opposite _D_ the projection _M_
then again hits the spring _E_, and releases the catch at _F_, and
another tooth of the scape wheel goes by.
There then you have a completely free escapement, and consequently an
accurate one. Many watches are made with these escapements, but they
are more expensive than those in common use.
There is but little remaining in a watch that is not in a clock, for
the wheel-trains and general arrangements are very similar.
It is possible to apply the chronometer’s detached escapement to a
clock. This was done by several clock-makers in the eighteenth and
early part of the nineteenth century. One method of doing it is as
follows:
_A_ is a block of metal fitted to the bottom of the pendulum, _B_ a
light lever pivoted on it. _C_ is the scape wheel, with four teeth;
_D_ a tooth of the scape wheel, which hops on to the projection of the
pendulum the moment that the impact of the point _E_ of the lever _B E_
has pushed aside the lever _G F_, and thus released the scape wheel.
The advantage is that it is a very easy escapement to make. But it is
in reality a detached (that is to say, a completely free) chronometer
escapement, as can easily be seen.
[Illustration: FIG. 67.]
Turret-clocks are open to considerable disadvantages, for the wind
blowing on the hands gives rise to considerable pressure, so that the
clocks are sometimes urging the hands against the wind, sometimes are
being helped by the wind. And this inequality of driving force makes
the pendulum at some times make a bigger arc of swing than at others.
But we saw above that though difference of arc of swing ought to make
no difference in the time of swing of the pendulum, yet this was only
strictly true if the arc of swing were a cycloid.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account