[time-nuts] Re: time nuts 1690's style

[Tom Van Baak]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for posting. That article has been making the rounds on the 'net 
recently although it was written in 2018. Like you say it has a bit of a 
pop-sci or even clickbait feel. It's an interesting story and contains 
valid bits of horology and physics but given the tone and content we did 
some fact checking before your posting went out to time-nuts.

Sure enough, the author (Ethan Siegel) confirmed by email he never found 
historical evidence but had simply heard the anecdote as an undergrad 
and spun it into the well-written article that you linked to. I'd say it 
falls into a similar category as the watchmaker & noon cannon story:

https://febo.com/pipermail/time-nuts_lists.febo.com/2014-February/064958.html

/tvb

On 9/15/2023 2:36 PM, chris--- via time-nuts wrote:
>     I just saw this article from a couple of weeks ago which describes how
>     the first highly accurate clocks imported to America did not run at the
>     correct rate, and left the clockmakers scratching their heads at the
>     time.
>
>     [1]https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/physics-first-clock-america-
>     failed/
>
>     It is a pop-sci type article, no citations provided, so I wouldn't be
>     surprised if it turned out that the experienced clock makers of the
>     time actually did know that "of course you have to recalibrate your
>     pendulum if you move to the Alps or move to Cairo" but apparently the
>     customers in Boston didn't know that and were mad their clock was
>     seemingly broken on the journey from Holland to the colonies, but
>     worked perfectly fine when they sent it back to the clock maker for
>     repair.
>
>     -- Chris Caudle
>
> References
>
>     1. https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/physics-first-clock-america-failed/
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