Uses
During the 1800s, conical pendulums were used as the timekeeping element in a few clockwork timing mechanisms where a smooth motion was required, as opposed to the unavoidably jerky motion provided by ordinary pendulums. Two examples were mechanisms to turn the lenses of lighthouses to sweep their beams across the sea, and the tracking drives of equatorial mount telescopes, to allow the telescope to follow a star smoothly across the sky as the Earth turns. They were also used in some bedroom clocks, to avoid the ticking sound of a pendulum or balance wheel movement, which could disturb sleep.
Conical pendulums had other uses unrelated to timekeeping. A pair of conical pendulums served as key components in the centrifugal governors used to regulate the operational speed of steam engines.
Read more about this topic: Conical Pendulum