Sunday, August 27, 2017

Wooden clock power consumption

For reference...

Clock #1 is powered by a 10 lb drive weight that falls 46" in 27 hours.
Power = (10 lb * 4.448222 N/lb)*(46 in*0.0254 m/in)/(27 h * 3600 s/h) = 0.5 mW

Clock #2 is powered by a 1 lb 4 oz weight that falls 11.5" in 5.5 minutes.
Power = (1.25 lb * 4.448222 N/lb)*(11.5 in*0.0254 m/in)/(5.5 min * 60 s/min) = 5 mW

Clock #3 (as it currently stands) is powered by a 4.125 inch-pound torque on the center wheel.
Power = (4.125 lb*4.448222 N/lb)*(6.28319 in/rotation * 0.0254 m/in)/3600 s/rotation = 0.8 mW

This explains why Clock #3 power consumption seems high... Torsion balances are supposed to be much more efficient (if lower Q) than pendulums, but this one is not!

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