Christiaan Huygens – the polymath who advanced the science of horology (born 14 April 1629)
Christiaan Huygens, a Dutch scientist from the 17th century, was a pioneer in developing the field of horology. He was an established mathematician in his day. Christiaan was also a scholar in physics and astronomy. He had correspondence with several eminent scientists and mathematicians of his time, such as Descartes and Pascal.
Christiaan invented the pendulum clock in the year 1657, when he was a 28-year old young man. His innovation effectively reduced the loss of time, from about 15 minutes to an astonishing 15 seconds for a single day. He patented the technology in 1657.
The legendary Galileo Galilei was the main inspiration behind his work. In 1602, Galileo was able to find and define the major properties that made pendulums effective timekeepers. Christiaan meticulously worked on the concepts. He created the necessary technology to add more value to the functioning of a pendulum.
The exclusive ‘verge & folio’ clocks had an uplift. The clocks were retrofitted with standard pendulums. Christiaan was successful in remarkably increasing the efficiency of pendulums. The pendulum clock became very popular, rapidly. He did not stop there. He kept on working to understand the horology-related dynamics more deeply.
He continued to study the different aspects of a pendulum. In a scholarly paper published in 1670, Christiaan proved that wide swings were the reasons behind the inaccuracy of pendulums. So, it was necessary to correct the swings. Its application reduced the swing to approximately 4 to 6-degrees.
Clockmakers soon adopted the concept and commercialized it through large scale production. Timekeeping became more efficient. The design of pendulum clocks developed further and their popularity soared even higher. Christiaan Huygens’s findings paved the way for rapid advancement in the field of horology.
Christiaan Huygens is widely regarded by scholars alike as one of the major contributors in the subject of horology. His relentless work, acumen of discovering new concepts and sharp analytical skills made it possible to transform the pendulum into its modern form. Truly, his work in the field of horology is timeless.
The Langlois clock, made in Paris at the end of 1650.
In 1659 Huygens produced the cycloidal pendulum which ensures a rigorously constant period of oscillation whatever the amplitude. According to his theories on clock construction and isochronism, Huygens drew the plan of a clock which he then had manufactured with various clockmakers in Europe.
He observed that they all worked in the same way and obtained practically the same precision even if they were made by different people with the nuances that this implies (different places, different artisans). Thus he demonstrated isochronism and that it was not the way of manufacturing that could generate a problem or a quality but the basic design that gives an equivalent precision.
Once the clocks were gathered together by Huygens they were placed on a shared base and wound. It was then that the scientist realised that soon the pendulums would synchronise in oscillation.