ACCU OF “BIG BEN.”
The Astronowi&r Royal, Sir Frank Dyson, recently wrote to the Times drawing attention to. the excellent performance of Big Ben: During the year which ended on April 30 it was compared on 288 dap at the Royal Observatory, and days did its error reach morh than Is., the maximum being 1.45. \ : This is an admirable record for a tower clock which is going continuously. (Explaining how the error is kept so small, the Astronomer Roylal wrote:—A tray is fixed about halfway down the pendulum, and when the clock is losing slightly a halfpenny or a penny is placed on the tiay. This makes the pendulum vibrate slightly more quickly and gradually brings the clock to time. If the clock is gaining a halfpenny or a penny is removed.
As it takes a fifth of a second for the sound of Big Ben to reach the bottom of the tower, and about a couple of seconds to reach Trafalgar Square, the limits of reasonable accuracy have leached. It is only for astronomical purposes that more is required.
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Bibliographic details
Thames Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 17970, 20 August 1930, Page 2
Word Count
180ACCU OF “BIG BEN.” Thames Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 17970, 20 August 1930, Page 2
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