The grandfather clock pendulum has not only been an ornament of the clock itself or any room, it has also become an icon or symbol for a lot of things. To some it has meant the coming of an imminent demise. To others it has symbolized speed and achievement. Whatever it is to the minds of people, it is an essential part of the grandfather clock. Without it, the clock is incomplete.

Bits of Trivial Facts

The grandfather clock has three main parts. They are the face, which is consisted of the hour and minute hands; the weights or spring that is used to rewind the clock; and the pendulum. The grandfather clock pendulum in most cases swings once in every second; and in cases of bigger clocks, it swings in every two seconds. Without the weights though the pendulum will not swing; thus, it is important that the clock has weights that best fit the pendulum. The pendulum has been considered by many people, those in the practice of science and not, that it has contributed a lot to the increase in the accuracy of clocks in terms of time measurement. As early as the seventeenth century, people have preferred grandfather clocks because of their accuracy and beauty. There were others though who liked them because of the almost hypnotic and relaxing effect of the pendulum on someone who focuses on it. It is to be noted though that it was Galileo Galilei who first thought of using a pendulum in timekeeping.

The Designs and Styles

There are two major things that make the pendulum ineffective thus resulting to the inaccuracy of the clock: the friction that is generated as the pendulum swings and temperature. The first is remedied by oiling the pendulum hanger and building the case in a manner that the pendulum does not touch any surface. The second though is harder because most elements or materials elongate or become deformed when subjected to heat, which results to the slowing down of the pendulum, resulting in the clock becoming inaccurate.

The grandfather clock pendulum comes in four recognized variations. The first is the simple bob that is hanged from a wooden stick. The second is pendulum that is made of the metal called the Elinvar. The third has mercury at its base. The fourth is the Gridiron. Each of these types of pendulum has built-in mechanism to counter the impacts of temperature.

  1. In the first type, wood has minimum susceptibility to the heat. It does not expand or contract as weathers or temperature changes.
  2. The second type is based on an element that has negligible ability to expand. This type of pendulum is used by the Greenwich Royal Observatory.
  3. The third with its mercury is preferred by many grandfather clock owners because of its ability to rise as the temperature does and to decrease as the heat level goes down.
  4. The fourth, which is a combination of zinc and iron, is the most ideal. Zinc expands as the temperature level rises, and on the other hand, iron contracts; thus, the net impact is no change in the length of the pendulum.
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