Congreve Rolling Ball Clock

[Nono21HD]

BRITISH MUSEUM!

[videofan792]

Fascinating!

[jamie101911]

I am a professer i make these clocks and sell them for antique items around $130 to the lowest to $587 at the most and this is a nicely designed clock and you should keep it dont ever try to sell it because 20 to 30 year from now it could cost bit money around $30,000 .

[apillow123]

so is this clock ever wrong or is it only effected by earthquakes. lol

[reesk92]

@apillow123 probably not but your 2 year old stealing the marble might cause soe trouble

[JonAutumnWinds]

very nice

[TheDraconman]

has the ball ever fallen off?

[hyperionn1]

@jsDominos

i think the ball does not have enough mass/energy to hit the lever and change te angle of the plate .it would have to lift its one weight. so i think there is a spring somewhere.

[lijpo1]

where i can pay this ?

[mijnvideokanaal]

Nice sistem!

[raspatism]

oh yeah definitely need sound for this one.

[c9ari]

I well will it keep time? is it in the minutes a day or secs a day?

[JSDominos]

holy shit, is that a perpetuüm mobile? O.ô

I guess it's powered?

[Legendation]

We love gravity. :)

[deaftodd]

i assume a speck of dust would ruin the time a bit

[darcyrox11]

OMG!!! that is the clock my great grandpa made!!! my great grandpa was sir william congreve!!!

[yindsoft]

How accurate it that thing?

[dan020350]

mainspring, ratchet , and escapement = makes up all pendulum clocks :)

[Karlfalcon]

Not always. Pendulum clocks may be weight-driven as well as spring driven. All that is needed is a source of tension to be released.

[dan020350]

@Karlfalcon When you say weight driven I assume you are implying energy is being applied, same as the spring driven. MY quest is to seek out free energy and at the same time free energy within ( relationship of the universe) , i have found two interesting thing, ( 1 - escapement and 2- mainspring) These two made up a decade of art ( happymeal toys, video cassettes... and so forth) it was a wonder when I remember those childhood times not noticing the beauty inside of it.

[dan020350]

so the end joints are called escapement :)

[dan020350]

rolling ball ( zig zag ) and the tilting table. Sir William Congreve . So gravity and tilt , but how does the end joints operate ?

[VideyoJunkei]

If it runs fast of slow, you can adjust the tilt of the plate to "trim" it's accuracy

[eskii69]

It'll have to have some human input eventually, it just has minimal friction to keep running for a while :)

[ccanaves]

No it won't. Gravity takes care of it.

[Karlfalcon]

Yes, but it will still have to be wound eventually.

Like I said, this is just like a normal pendulum clock, but instead of 1 swing a second, this plate takes a full minute to rock back and forth. It is just a much slower escapement.

[looney1023]

how does it rock itself the other way?

[Karlfalcon]

HA! no.

The ball and track act as a timer for the clock escapement. It's a pendulum that takes 30 seconds to swing one direction.

[dan020350]

@Karlfalcon I see, its a pendulum. but in the form of a tilt.

[Karlfalcon]

Yes, a very slow pendulum.

[dan020350]

@Karlfalcon When will this pendulum stop ?

[Karlfalcon]

When the clock winds down, of course.

[dan020350]

@Karlfalcon what does that mean?

[Karlfalcon]

It has to be wound again eventually, otherwise it will stop - there will not be enough tension in the clock to tilt the plate.

[Karlfalcon]

Have you never wound a clock?

[dan020350]

@KarlfalconI have to agree so :) I never wound a clock before ( maybe an alarm) - due to the heavy use of electricity and entertainment i have become dull. But since you say 'it has to be wound again,' can you not think of a way not to be wound again ? :)

[Karlfalcon]

Yes, actually. There are some mechanical clocks that wind themselves. Some of them run on changes in air pressure. Differences in atmospheric pressure throughout the day slowly and very gently keep the clock wound.

There are also many mechanical wristwatches which are self-winding. They capture the movement of your arm and use that to re-tighten the spring.

[Karlfalcon]

I often forget that many people today have only lived with electrical appliances.

[dan020350]

@Karlfalcon If children were taught the crafts early and given the opportunity to create their art, then this knowledge ( beauty) will not be lost . Pendulum clocks caught my attention was due to Reidar Finsrud perpetual motion.

[dan020350]

@Karlfalcon I thought so, i was researching on the subject of escapements, and found that the balance wheel is some sort of self starting - by the use of vibrations, i was thinking if there is some sort of device to capture those vibrations either from earth's plate tectonics or just the other side of the world when there is constant movement , rush hour , maybe a low amount of free energy can be harnessed ?

[CIHLN]

Bravo ! * * * * *

[emobyblood]

I WANT IT SOOOOO BAD!!!!!

[WastedPo]

This is a beautiful device, and a nicely put together video. What I find delightful is that the ball actually serves a function in the time-keeping and isn't just "for show."

[Tingilyawen]

"The Road Goes Ever On"... for the ball. :)

[zstarch]

There is one on ebay now.

[throovest]

The first roll-ex?

[Karlfalcon]

facepalm.jpg

[bivoxuhri]

where can you buy this clock? is it very expensive?

[GDK1]

There's one on eBay listed for $3000.00

[moparmadman25]

I just fell asleep watching this

[frozenmercury]

How much power do you need to run it?

[KoraggRules]

its very beautiful

[airtwaine]

BORRRRRRIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGG­GGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!! waste of life... no thats an understatement... This is a waste of matter.

[fty170]

that was kinda boriing

[Karlfalcon]

You came to watch a clock escapement and you complain it is boring you?

Friend you need to re-evaluate your expectations.

[ads998]

I love these clocks! Of course they are notoriously poor at time keeping...but what a joyful thing to watch! Where did you get it? I really want one!!

[goatrider]

I used to work for a clock store that sells these. You can contact them at grandfatherclocksplus dot com. Gotta warn you though, they are very expensive and the quantity made is limited to something like 50 a year.

[darcyrox11]

@ads998 thats not true

they are actually verry accuate.