Bain's electric clock
Reloj eléctrico de Bain
- Date
- 1840-1841 · confidence high
- Place
- London, England, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Alexander Bain
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
What it is
A pendulum clock whose impulse is given by an electromagnet powered by a battery, instead of weights, and whose pendulum can synchronise other clocks by an electrical signal. It was patented in January 1841.
Bain partnered with the clockmaker John Barwise, and had a priority dispute with Charles Wheatstone, who had earlier proposed synchronised clocks. Bain's clocks were unreliable because of the batteries and the contact.
What it led to
- networks of clocks synchronised by electrical signal in railways and cities
- observatory master clocks (Synchronome)
- electric wall and mains clocks