Item ST 19105 Impulse Clock - James Searle, Melbourne, 1931

Summary

Electric impulse clock, made by James Searle, Melbourne, 1931. Commissioned by Melbourne clock collector John Askew to demonstrate the use of the Hipp principle in timekeeping.

Mathias Hipp of Germany designed an electrical impulse clock in the 1830s in which the pendulum received an electro-mechanical impulse only when its swing had decreased sufficiently to trigger an electromagnet. The pendulum drove a ratchet wheel which in turn drove the clock train. Clocks designed to the Hipp principle continued to be used as master clocks into the 20th century.

Physical Description

Clock mechanism is suspended on a polished backboard. Electric impulse movement.