On the birth and growth of pendulum clocks in the early modern era

Abstract

Measuring the passage of time has intrigued humankind throughout the centuries. Ancient times witnessed the appearance and development of clepsydras and water clocks, whose place was subsequently taken by mechanical clocks in the Middle Ages. It is really surprising how the general architecture of mechanical clocks has remained almost unchanged in practice up to the present time. Yet the foremost mechanical developments in clock-making date from the 17th century, when the discovery of the laws of pendular isochronism by Galilei and Huygens permitted a higher degree of accuracy in the measuring of time.