According to the law of simple pendulum, the pendulum is used to control other parts, so that the clock moves slowly and evenly, and can generally tell the time. You need a spring to provide energy to make it swing.

The swinging pendulum swings through the mutual transformation of gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy. Simply put, if a person pulls the pendulum up, the pendulum will swing down due to the influence of gravity. After reaching the lowest position, it has a speed, so it is impossible to stop there directly (just like the brakes can't stop at once).

It will continue to cross the lowest position, and will be put back to the highest position because gravity slows it down to 0, and then put it back (just like throwing something into the sky, slowing it down to 0 in the rise and then falling).

According to the above, the pendulum can swing forever, but because of resistance, it will swing down gradually and finally stop. So use the spring to provide energy to make it swing.

Development history

A clock with a pendulum as its vibration system. Usually it has the function of telling time, so it is also called a clock. From 1582 to 1583, Italian physicist and astronomer Galileo discovered the isochronism of pendulum.

Pendulum clocks can be made into seat clocks, wall clocks, floor clocks, master clocks of master and slave clocks, astronomical clocks and other types according to their uses and requirements. Pendulum clocks usually tell the time by mechanical ticking, but they also tell the time by electronic amplification. The pendulum clock used in modern courts is often equipped with a set of mechanical transmission mechanism to tell the time with the moving images of figures, landscapes, birds and animals made by seiko.

The principle of pendulum clock

Is to use the isochronism of a simple pendulum. It is this characteristic that can be used for timing. The periodic formula of a simple pendulum is: time = 2 times π times (the length of the root divided by the acceleration of gravity). Through the formula and its derivation, it can be seen that the motion of a simple pendulum depends on gravity and the tension of the rope. The period of swinging only depends on the swinging length of the rope and the acceleration of gravity. The acceleration of the earth's gravity is fixed, and the control of the pendulum length can be timed by adjusting the period.