Pendulum
In 1581, Galileo began studying at the University of Pisa University of Pisa, where his father hoped he would study medicine. While at the University of Pisa, Galileo began his study of the pendulum while, according to legend, he watched a suspended lamp swing back and forth in the cathedral of Pisa. However, it was not until 1602 that Galileo made his most notable discovery about the pendulum - the period (the time in which a pendulum swings back and forth) does not depend on the arc of the swing (the isochronism). Eventually, this discovery would lead to Galileo's further study of time intervals and the development of his idea for a
pendulum clock.
galileo.rice.edu/bio/narrative_2.html
Galileo was bored. As he listened to a Mass in the drafty cathedral of Pisa in 1581, the 17-year-old student noticed something interesting. A chandelier high overhead was swaying in the breeze, sometimes barely moving and other times swinging in a wide arc. His curiosity aroused, he timed the swings with his pulse. To his surprise, it took the same number of pulse beats for the chandelier to complete one swing no matter how far it moved. The wider the swing, the faster the motion, but always in the same amount of time. So time could be measured by the swing of a pendulum -- the basis for the pendulum clock.
Pendulum
In 1581, Galileo began studying at the University of Pisa University of Pisa, where his father hoped he would study medicine. While at the University of Pisa, Galileo began his study of the pendulum while, according to legend, he watched a suspended lamp swing back and forth in the cathedral of Pisa. However, it was not until 1602 that Galileo made his most notable discovery about the pendulum - the period (the time in which a pendulum swings back and forth) does not depend on the arc of the swing (the isochronism). Eventually, this discovery would lead to Galileo's further study of time intervals and the development of his idea for a
pendulum clock.
galileo.rice.edu/bio/narrative_2.html
Galileo was bored. As he listened to a Mass in the drafty cathedral of Pisa in 1581, the 17-year-old student noticed something interesting. A chandelier high overhead was swaying in the breeze, sometimes barely moving and other times swinging in a wide arc. His curiosity aroused, he timed the swings with his pulse. To his surprise, it took the same number of pulse beats for the chandelier to complete one swing no matter how far it moved. The wider the swing, the faster the motion, but always in the same amount of time. So time could be measured by the swing of a pendulum -- the basis for the pendulum clock.