An electromagnetically impulsed pendulum clock
The pendulum has a magnet set in the bottom of it. In the base of the clock is a wire wound coil with a mild steel core which forms an electromagnet.
As the pendulum swings over the coil a small current is generated in the coil. This is sensed by a micro controller (Arduino) which immediately delivers a bigger pulse to the coil and the resulting magnetic field repulses the pendulum magnet and gives the pendulum a kick. This is repeated and repeated. The pulse is in the order of 20msecs and can be varied in software for fine tuning. The length of the pulse does not affect the period of the pendulum which is altered in the normal way by changing the length of the pendulum.
More details to follow
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