The best mechanical timekeeper known is a pendulum swinging freely under gravity, but in order to convert such a pendulum into a practical clock, the pendulum must be sustained in motion so that the oscillations do not die down, and the swings must be counted. In ordinary clocks, the sustaining and counting function are both carried out by the escapement and the clock mechanism, but the free motion of the pendulum is considerably interfered with thereby, with a consequential loss of accuracy in timekeeping. What is so special about the Shortt Free Pendulum Clock is that a free pendulum became a reality, and for a number of years, from about 1922 until it was superseded by the atomic clock, it served as the pre-eminent time-keeper, and was to be found in all the world's observatories.
Three instruction booklets describe the development history, technical details and construction of this fascinating mechanism which provides endless opportunity for Meccano construction, as well as an investigation of the theory of its operation. One booklet consists of nineteen pages of information on the prototype, illustrated by ten technical diagrams. Fully comprehensive building instructions cover another twenty-nine pages A second illustrated section includes forty black & white photographs and a third has a further seventeen diagrams.
Also included are a Preface, Glossary of Terms, Parts List, List of Contents, List of Illustrations, Acknowledgements and References.
Educational and informative even if you do not build a model!
NB: The illustration is of the prototype
Please note these Model Plans are designed by individual Meccano modellers and may use parts not currently available. The level of instruction detail is dependent on the original modeller and varies from plan to plan. These are instructions only.
|
