The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-12-28
HOROLOGY AND ITS HUMBLE HOME
AT WASHINGTON OBSERVATORY.

A Room Given Over to Clocks, TIckers
and TeIegraphy - Description of the
Principal Time-Pieces and Their Uses
The Hack Clock.
The clocks and instruments used to dis
tribute time are in a very humble
apartment in basement of the uniVer-
sity, the observatory itself being SO small
that it would be difficult to get the clocks
into it. The mean approach to this base
ment scarcely prepares a visitor for the
interesting sight which awaits him. The
room is just given over to clicks, tickers,
and telegraphy. The principal clocks are
encased most carefully and mounted on
piers OF solid masonry which absolutely
prevents vibration by coming in contact
with the earth at their base alone, six or
eight feet below the surface. OF the
three one is kept absolutely correct, while
in the other two the errors are allowed to
accumulate and a record of them kept in
the most careful manner. One Of these
erTatic timepieces got 1-1000th part of
second behind one day last week and was
duly recorded, and from the records IL
seems that another varied nearly two sec
onds in a whole year The error is de-
tected by very scientific process Of star
gazing, described later ca.
standard time is considered as fine a time
piece as can be made, and comes from the
workshops Of Hohwn, of Amsterdam, Hol-
land, who shares with Frodsham, of Lon
don, England, the reputation of being one
of the two finest makers in the world. Il
is of course devoid of any ornament, and
is constructed for pure utility. 1t stands
about five feet high and has a seconds
pendulum of thirry-nine inches. It has
nd lTa
face has three diaIs, one recording the
hours from one to twenty-fOur, an
other the minutes, and a third the sec
Onds. 1t is the duty of this clock, which
Is wound up once week, to &c steadily
on and record the time as accurately as
possible, and as it is never altered any
error is registered against it. In order to
assist it in keeping accurate, it is inclosed
IN three Rir-tight cases and a thermometer
within the glass fronts of these, records
any variation from 20 degrees Fab, which
is at once rectified.
WHAT THE OTHER CLOCKS DO.
The next clock registers sidereal or star
time, which differs considerably from
standard time, inasmuch as the sidereal
year contains 800 days. Hence this clock
can only agree exactly with its Dutch
neighbOr once year, and now the varia-
ton is about seven hours. j. is by E.
Howard & Co., of Boston, end is not SO
neat in appearance as that showing stand
ard time, though it resembles it in size
and shape.
The third clock has more work to do. 1t
is also by Howard, and is know as mo.
225." 1t IS kept at central or Mississippi
valley mean time, just six hours behind
Greenwich and forty nine seconds before
st. Louis local time. Unlike the two re-
cOrders Of time just referred to, this clock
Is kept Just right, and as a matter Of
fact it requires very little regulating. At
times astronomical observations prove 1t
to be an infinitesimal fraction of a second
in error, and this is rectifed by increasing
or decreasing by fraction of grain the
weight which provides the motive power.
The face is of the regulation character,
the hours running from one to twelve
only, and exactly above the figure twelve
is a small platinum spring, which pro
jectS sufficiently to be touched by the min
ute hour just as it records the hour.
The most hard working clock in the col
lection is the hack clock, which does the
great bulk of sending out time. It's huge
.,endulum beats alternate seconds, the
tick being audible as already explained
both in the observatory and at various Of
fees and stores down town. By its side is
an ordinary seconds pendulum freely and
accurately hung, and which, when set 10
- motion, runs by force of gravity. 1t ticks
in exact unison with the hack clock, but
registers the seconds only, so that when
at work double beat is recorded. At
9:56 every day the hack clock is put eX-
actly right, and a minute later time" is
called to all the points taking time at 10
This preliminary warning having been
given, double beats commence at 9:5S, and
continue for 80 seconds, when the circuit
is opened. At $3.50 the clock begins again
and sends single beats only for so seconds,
when the circuit is once more opened, I'M
Ill exactly 10, when a single beat is given,
followed by the Geographic signal, 40 K.
OBJ" and the signaling is Over.-Globe-
Democrat.