How It Works
The master and slave pendulums were linked together in a feedback loop which kept the slave synchronized with the master. The slave clock had a mechanical escapement using a 15-tooth count wheel which was moved forward each pendulum swing by a pawl attached to the pendulum. Every 15 swings (30 seconds), this released a gravity lever which gave the slave pendulum a push. This simultaneously closed a switch which sent a pulse of current to an electromagnet which released a gravity lever to give the master pendulum a push. The impulse was provided by the weight of the gravity lever (acting as a remontoire) rolling off a wheel attached to the pendulum, this mechanism ensuring that the pendulum received an identical impulse, at precisely the same part of its stroke, each time. The fall of the gravity lever also closed a pair of contacts to generate an electrical pulse for synchronising the slave.
Read more about this topic: Shortt-Synchronome Clock
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