History: On the 16th of October, 1834, a raging fire ravaged a majority of the Palace of Westminster along the waterfront of the River Thames in London. The following year, Parliament decided that they must rebuild the palace, and that the new structure should include a massive clock tower. Commission for the reconstruction was given to architect Charles Berry. Specifications for the clock was appointed to George Airy, the Astronomer Royal, who created a requirement that "the first stroke of the hour bell should register the time, correct to within one second per day, and furthermore that it should telegraph its performance twice a day to Greenwich Observatory, where a record would be kept." Most clockmakers at that time were skeptical of his plan, believing that such accuracy would be impossible to maintain in a clock so large. They were in awe when it was completed on April 10, 1858, and precisely measured time, largely due to a new “gravity escapement” invented by Denison.
Even today, the clock tower (originally called the Clock Tower of St. Stephens) keeps precise timing, and has become the most famous landmarks in all of London. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock in the world. The Tower of Big Ben (calling it just Big Ben is actually a misnomer, as it is the name of the huge bell inside of the tower, named after Sir Benjamin Hall, the commissioner of works when the bell was installed) reaches over 200 feet high and sits on a 10 foot high concrete raft. A close-up view of the clock faces show that the “faces” are actually large, white stain-glassed windows, and below each “face”, there is an inscription which reads: “DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM”, meaning “O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First” in Latin.
Questions:
1. Why did Parliament have to rebuild the palace?
2. What allowed such a large clock to keep precise timing?
3. What is Big Ben?
4. What does “DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM” mean in English?
WCP:
"Big Ben." World Book Encyclopedia. 2007 ed.
Questions:
How did the "gravity escapement" work?
ReplyDeleteThe "gravity escapement" helped kept the clock (better) precise by separating the pendulum from the clock mechanisms, and helped keep it stable by protecting it wind and temperature changes. I never found any diagram showing how it looked, so I can't really explain how it is able to do that.
ReplyDeleteinteresting report
ReplyDeleteAw man, that tower. <3 But for some reason, whenever I see a bell like that, all I can think about it Liberty Bell. 8D *American.*
ReplyDeleteWhat caused the fire?
ReplyDelete