Pendulum clocks arrived on the scene in 1656. Since then, the basic design has barely budged. Before this invention, keeping accurate time was mostly a guess. These were the first timepieces to offer real precision.
Look at any pendulum clock. You see the face. It has hour and minute hands. Sometimes there is a moon phase dial. You see weights. Or a keyhole for a spring if it is a newer model. We are sticking with weight-driven clocks here. And you see the pendulum. That is the heart of the machine.
The swing speed depends on the size. Most wall clocks tick once per second. Small cuckoo clocks move faster. They swing twice a second. Grandfather clocks are slower. Their heavy bobs take two seconds per swing.
How do these parts work together to keep the clock ticking and the time accurate? Let’s take a look at the weight, first.
