On June 16, 1657, Christiaan Huygens – a Dutch astronomer, inventor, physicist and mathematician – patented a pendulum clock for the first time. A.S.Ganesh takes a look at how Huygens turned ...

A falling weight is very accurate Non-digital clocks can either be pendulum driven, using a falling weight, or can be spring wound.

The metallic compensation is effected without any friction, by the ascent and descent of two spring levers, with three adjustable weights, and which lengthen or shorten as they rise or fall.

That big grandfather clock in the library might be an impressive piece of mechanical ingenuity, and an even better example of fine cabinetry, but we’d expect that the accuracy of a pendulum t… ...