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Thread: Uh oh...

  1. #1

    Uh oh...

    Clock shock: British admit Big Ben's bongs not quite on time
    August 25, 2015 10:51 AM EST


    LONDON (AP) — Don't set your watch by Big Ben.


    Officials say the famous clock at Britain's Parliament — used by Londoners for decades to check the time — has recently been slow by as much as six seconds.


    The 156-year-old clock chimes every 15 minutes and emits deep bongs to mark the hour. Its inaccuracy was noticed by staff at BBC radio, which broadcasts the bongs live at 6 p.m.
    Ian Westworth, one of Parliament's three clocksmiths, told the BBC the clock had become "a little temperamental" with age. "Imagine running your car for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for the last 156 years," he said.


    Parliamentary officials said Tuesday that mechanics had corrected the clock to within "normal parameters" — within 2 seconds of the right time. They will continue to adjust it by placing pennies on the pendulum — or removing them — to fine-tune its speed.


    Parliament's neo-Gothic clock tower is one of London's most recognizable landmarks, and its bell is one of London's characteristic sounds. The famous bongs echoed through the city without fail through World War II bombing raids, though they have been silenced a few times for repairs, and by accident or the weather.


    Although the clock tower is popularly known as Big Ben, the name actually refers to the 13 ½- ton Great Bell inside. The tower was renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne.



    Well, plus or minus two seconds would put it in certified chronometer territory...

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  3. #2
    Curious. Perhaps I'm misremembering my high school physics, but...I was under the impression that the speed of a pendulum depended on it's LENGTH, and was largely independent of WEIGHT.

    Can someone better versed in clock pendulum mechanics set me straight, please?
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  5. #3
    wind-up merchant OhDark30's Avatar
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    'On top of the pendulum is a small stack of old penny coins; these are to adjust the time of the clock. Adding a coin has the effect of minutely lifting the position of the pendulum's centre of mass, reducing the effective length of the pendulum rod and hence increasing the rate at which the pendulum swings. Adding or removing a penny will change the clock's speed by 0.4 seconds per day'
    - Big Ben's wiki entry

    Also, for all you ever wanted to know about Big Ben, from The Independent:
    Name:  clockreuters.jpg
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    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...e-7578555.html

    Last edited by OhDark30; Aug 25, 2015 at 05:47 PM.
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  7. #4
    The pennies are added to the top of the pendulum and raise the CoM of the Bob (albeit minutely) effectively adjusting the length of the pendulum.

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  9. #5
    The Dude Abides Nokie's Avatar
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    If Ben does not bong when beckoned, I am bummed.....
    "Either He's Dead, Or My Watch Has Stopped....."
    Groucho Marx

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  11. #6
    No, no, no, no, no.... This is wrong, just plain wrong.

    Big Ben is right, always. Can't help it if the rest of the universe is outside of COSC. The universe just needs to adjust itself...


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  13. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by mlcor View Post
    Clock shock: British admit Big Ben's bongs not quite on time
    August 25, 2015 10:51 AM EST


    LONDON (AP) — The tower was renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne.


    .

    Goodness - haven't you people heard of FIBER?

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  15. #8
    Another Member crownpuller's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mlcor View Post
    Clock shock: British admit Big Ben's bongs not quite on time
    Hey ma'an.... like... Let's not get too heavy... I mean, when it comes to bongs.... I'm so, like, totally flexible, you know ?
    Some people have opinions - The rest of us have taste.

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  17. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by crownpuller View Post
    Hey ma'an.... like... Let's not get too heavy... I mean, when it comes to bongs.... I'm so, like, totally flexible, you know ?
    Take a deep pull on the bong, and forget about Big Ben's transgressions against time in recent weeks


    Must be a relative no-news Newsday today

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  19. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Seriously View Post
    Take a deep pull on the bong, and forget about Big Ben's transgressions against time in recent weeks


    Must be a relative no-news Newsday today
    Just trying to liven things up around here.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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