Drawing Representing Galileo's Proposal for the Application of the Pendulum to the Clock, 1659, copy

Drawing Representing Galileo's Proposal for the Application of

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Drawing Representing Galileo's Proposal for the Application of
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Copy of the drawing representing Galileo's idea of the application of the pendulum to the clock, 1659.

This copy of a drawing made by Galileo's (1564-1642) friend and biographer, Viviani (1622-1703) shows the incomplete pendulum clock, which Galileo designed just before his death. It represents the first known attempt to apply a pendulum to control the rate of a clock. Galileo had observed that the time taken for a pendulum to complete one swing was almost independent of the arc through which it swung and he had used a freely swinging pendulum to time various astronomical events. He recognised the potential of using a pendulum to control a clock but died before his work could be completed. It was Huygens (1629-1693) in The Hague, Holland, who eventually built the first successful pendulum clock in 1656.

Details

Category:
Time Measurement
Object Number:
1876-70
Materials:
paper (fibre product)
Measurements:
overall: 500 mm x 420 mm
type:
drawing
credit:
Reale Instituto di Studie Superiori