Our Perspectives | Stories about our mechanical journey — Science RSS

Pendulums look innocently simple. Yet, they power some of the most jaw-dropping engineering feats we see in the modern world around us. Tall skyscrapers that remain sturdy against the strong winds? Pendulums. Earthquake resistant bridges? Pendulums. Power stations that generate energy from waves? Pendulums. There’s no greater way to understand this effect brought about by pendulums than by building a mechanical pendulum clock and seeing its effect come alive yourself! The engineering principles behind a mechanical pendulum clock go beyond just the pendulum alone. It is also about sustaining the released energy through the pendulum’s swing and timing, ensuring that the clock utilises this energy for as long as possible. The best case example of this is a swing in a...