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

[chris at chriscaudle.org]

   On Sep 19 2023, at 10:30 am, Tom Van Baak via time-nuts
   <time-nuts at lists.febo.com> wrote:

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.

   I found the article interesting even if the basis story is a bit
   post-apocryphal because the author explained the background of the
   dependence of pendulum behavior on both length and gravitation, and
   worked out the performance differences you can expect for different
   gravitational acceleration values.  It is kind of a gentle introduction
   to time-nuttiness for casual observers, or young students who are still
   at the "assume gravity is 9.8m/s/s" stage of their physics education.

   If not for that I would have just blown it off as "seems unlikely they
   wouldn't just adjust the pendulum bob based on astronomical
   observations."  The one thing which would make the article better is
   actual confirmed gravitational values at Amsterdam and Boston to add
   into the table of how fast or slow a 0.994m pendulum would swing at
   various gravitational acceleration values to show what actual magnitude
   of difference would be expected.

   -- Chris C

   On Sep 19 2023, at 10:30 am, Tom Van Baak via time-nuts
   <time-nuts at lists.febo.com> wrote:

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-fai
led/
> _______________________________________________
> time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts at lists.febo.com
> To unsubscribe send an email to time-nuts-leave at lists.febo.com
>
_______________________________________________
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts at lists.febo.com
To unsubscribe send an email to time-nuts-leave at lists.febo.com