Picture Gallery
NAWCC LOS PADRES CHAPTER 52
THE CENTRAL COAST TIMES
August, 2006
CHAPTER OFFICERS CHAPTER DIRECTORS_________
* President Bert Townsend 805 543-1373 Tom Jermin 805 466 9382
* V P Ed Serge 805 466- 4200 Jim Mahaffey 805 528-2256
* Secretary Katherine Demny 805 687-8914 Bob Stoll 805 736-3153
*Treasurer Jerry Freedman 805 528- 3100
AUGUST Meeting: Date: Aug 13, 2006 12:30PM
Place: Senior Center 1580 Railroad Ave Oceano, Ca
Show and tell topics. Clocks or watches beginning with F or T or other interesting horological item.
Horological quiz:
Horological quiz, by Bert Townsend
Q: A watch DOME is
A: 1. A transparent display cover
2. A roof over a museum
3. The inside cover of a watchcase or lid immediately next to the back cover.
Answer, at end of newsletter
President's Message
A ROUND OF THANK-YOU'S
As we jog further into the second half of the year, it is again time to pause and enjoy a round of thanks to many members who have helped make the chapter function well.
Bill Kapp, organized the April Mart with help from others. Not only did the mart occur as planned but also Bill gets double thanks for donating the hot dogs and other fixings. Thanks to all helped with the planning, set up and clean up. We couldn't do it without you.
Caroline Terry deserves to be thanked for traveling from Los Osos to Paso to help in the kitchen only to find that her services weren't needed. We're sorry that happened.
Ed Serge gets our thanks for presenting the July program. His topic was case restoration without original finish destruction. Good job, Ed.
And while we're at it, thanks to Roger Lehman for presenting the up coming August program. See details below.
Other 2006 program presenters to be remembered kindly with heaps of thanks include Henri Klein, Steve Mott, Ray Marsolek, and David O'Bannon who provides videos and the audio/video
gear.
And, to wrap up, special thanks to Dick Higuera, newsletter editor and Jerry Freedman who prints and mails the newsletter.
August program
Our August program will be presented by Roger Lehman who will share is experience in the field of WATCH COLLECTING AS A HOBBY.
Annual BBQ and Auction
During the August meeting we will again make plans for the September BBQ and auction. Come prepared to suggest your food ideas and logistical pointers.
Other dates to mark on your calendar include:
Sep, Annual BBQ and auction
Oct, A program by Tom Jermin
Nov, A program by Bert Townsend
Dec, Christmas party
Article for the Month
Mechanical Pendulum Clocks
In Europe during most of the Middle Ages (roughly 500 to 1500 A.D.), technological advancement was at a virtual standstill. Sundial styles evolved, but didn't move far from ancient Egyptian principles.
In 1656, Christian Huygens, a Dutch scientist, made the first pendulum clock, regulated by a mechanism with a "natural" period of oscillation. Although Galileo Galilei, sometimes credited with inventing the pendulum, studied its motion as early as 1582, Galileo's design for a clock was not built before his death. Huygens' pendulum clock had an error of less than 1 minute a day, the first time such accuracy had been achieved. His later refinements reduced his clock's errors to less than 10 seconds a day.
Around 1675, Huygens developed the balance wheel and spring assembly, still found in some of today's wrist watches. This improvement allowed 17th century watches to keep time to 10 minutes a day. And in London in 1671 William Clement began building clocks with the new "anchor" or "recoil" escapement, a substantial improvement over the verge because it interferes less with the motion of the pendulum.
In 1721, George Graham improved the pendulum clock's accuracy to 1 second a day by compensating for changes in the pendulum's length due to temperature variations. John Harrison, a carpenter and self-taught clock-maker, refined Graham's temperature compensation techniques and added new methods of reducing friction. By 1761, he had built a marine chronometer with a spring and balance wheel escapement that won the British government's 1714 prize (of over $2,000,000 in today's currency) offered for a means of determining longitude to within one-half degree after a voyage to the West Indies. It kept time on board a rolling ship to about one-fifth of a second a day, nearly as well as a pendulum clock could do on land, and 10 times better than required.
Over the next century refinements led in 1889 to Siegmund Riefler's clock with a nearly free pendulum, which attained an accuracy of a hundredth of a second a day and became the standard in many astronomical observatories. A true free-pendulum principle was introduced by R. J. Rudd about 1898, stimulating development of several free-pendulum clocks. One of the most famous, the W. H. Shortt clock, was demonstrated in 1921. The Shortt clock almost immediately replaced Riefler's clock as a supreme timekeeper in many observatories. This clock consists of two pendulums, one a slave and the other a master. The slave pendulum gives the master pendulum the gentle pushes needed to maintain its motion, and also drives the clock's hands. This allows the master pendulum to remain free from mechanical tasks that would disturb its regularity.
Edited by Dick Higuera
Answer to quiz: : 3, maybe 1 and/or 2.
APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
If you are a member of the NAWCC and would like to join with other collectors and your friends as a member of the Los Padres Chapter 52, please complete this form and send it, with $5.00 to Jerry Freedman 1514 4th St. Los Osos 93402. Dues received after September 1 will be credited to the next full year.
NAME ___________________________________________
NEW MEMBER OR RENEWAL (circle one) SPOUSE__________________________________________
STREET ADDRESS________________________________
CITY:____________________________________________
PHONE: ( )__________NAWCC NO.____________
|