The remarkable accuracy of the Trinity College clock

"This remarkable accuracy is normally expected of modern electronic timepieces, but the quartz watch on your wrist is probably only good enough to achieve a few seconds' accuracy a week. The Trinity clock with its various clever compensation systems is a remarkable testament to the importance of sound science and the longevity of good engineering."

The quartz watch wasn't supposed to be more accurate than a tower clock. It was supposed to be more durable with about an equal accuracy. You can make a wristwatch more accurate at the expense of battery life, but you can't really wear a tower clock on your wrist!

Or consider the Queens' College sundial:

http://www.queens.cam.ac.uk/life-at-queens/about-the-college...

Pretty cool though I still prefer the Corpus clock a few yards down the road https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Clock

Those interested by this article may enjoying browsing through Hugh Hunt's other pieces - he's done some pretty amazing things in the name of popular engineering! http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~hemh/

“Pigeons can also play havoc with time.”

This has to be the best single sentence to take out of context. When I read that, my first thought was, “Especially if you’re trying to run NTP over RFC1149.”

also interesting: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortt-Synchronome_clock

What is keeping the pendulum swinging?

What is the Q-factor of this clock?

Upvoted for pointing me to The Conversation. Great find! Academic results presented in a readable fashion, but by the study authors rather than a Chinese Whispers of journalists ignorant of the topic.