The following text beside the pendulum encapsulates its significance. Water, which is recycled, slowly flows into the centre of the cross beam, which tips to let it out. What is remarkable is that with all the science in the world, no one can predict exactly how it will be moving a minute from now. This is the way the world is. In this simple machine, you are looking at a new frontier in our understanding of the world.
Scientists call it chaos.
Some people look to science for certainties on which to base their lives. Increasingly we realise our knowledge can never provide certainty, even for this simple machine. The world is a more wonderful and a more surprising place than we could have imagined. After the launch, a number of people sent in comments. I met a friend shopping in Clifton.