Electric Clocks People have observed and sought to understand the natural phenomenon of electricity for thousands of years. The 19th century, however, ushered in an unprecedented amount of investigation into and application of this mysterious force. Horologists were particularly interested in exploring its possibilities. Scottish clockmaker Alexander Bain (1810-1877), the "Father of Electric Horology," patented the first electric clock system in 1841. His work laid the foundation for many of the horological advances that would revolutionize clockmaking in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Electricity has had numerous horological applications. In early battery-powered clocks, an electromagnetic impulse maintained the consistent rate of a balance wheel or pendulum. Electricity also made possible synchronized clock systems such as those used by large institutions (schools, hotels, factories) as well as the railroads. In these, an electric signal from a master clock regulates the hands of secondary (or "slave") clocks. Chester Pond of Brooklyn, New York, saved future owners the trouble of periodic rewinding by developing and patenting (1888) the self-winding clock, in which a small motor automatically rewound the clock's unwound spring. One of the most important developments in electric horology was the synchronous motor, patented by Henry Warren in 1918 and used in most electric clocks from 1919 on. The speed of the synchronous motor is directly proportional to the frequency of the electric current that operates it, thus the synchronous clock is only as accurate as its energy supply is consistent. For this reason, Warren also developed a clock that could control the fluctuating frequency of alternating currents produced by generators. This enabled clocks with synchronous motors to run consistently on a standard current, resulting in an affordable source of reliable timekeeping for everyone on the service grid. |
