I wonder why Chloroethane / ethyl chloride was chosen. I don't think I've ever seen this for anything, other than a synthesis precursor to useful stuff.
My guess: it is a relatively safe compound with the right properties to act as a working fluid for this movement. The text linked below mentions the working fluid and the property that the vapor pressure is highly variable over the range of normal room temperatures.
I got my sister a Atmos VIII as a present a few years back, and it took us a few attempts to get it running at the proper speed via the adjustment lever (the analog world is messy). Now it gloriously stands there, never needing to be touched to keep time.
Professionals have instruments that measure the precise period of the clock ticks that are heard, so the adjustment lever can be set accurately immediately.
With a computer (or with a smartphone), one could easily improvise an equivalent instrument, by recording the ticks with the microphone and displaying the tick period during adjustment.
I wonder why Chloroethane / ethyl chloride was chosen. I don't think I've ever seen this for anything, other than a synthesis precursor to useful stuff.
My guess: it is a relatively safe compound with the right properties to act as a working fluid for this movement. The text linked below mentions the working fluid and the property that the vapor pressure is highly variable over the range of normal room temperatures.
Here is a document with details and history about these clocks: https://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~matilsky/documents/Atmos/At...
I got my sister a Atmos VIII as a present a few years back, and it took us a few attempts to get it running at the proper speed via the adjustment lever (the analog world is messy). Now it gloriously stands there, never needing to be touched to keep time.
Professionals have instruments that measure the precise period of the clock ticks that are heard, so the adjustment lever can be set accurately immediately.
With a computer (or with a smartphone), one could easily improvise an equivalent instrument, by recording the ticks with the microphone and displaying the tick period during adjustment.
There’s even a few phone apps that do that
I take it she lives in a blessedly DST-free jurisdiction, then?