Uploaded February 2013 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
This is a Lego version of Galileo's escapement that dates back to early 17th century Europe, before Huygens developed a more accurate mechanism.
As the pendulum swings to the left, the left arm of the prong (black) releases (unlocks) the escape wheel with an obvious recoil; when the pendulum swings to the right, the right arm of the prong (red) locks the wheel.
Originally I named this model 'Recoil Escapement', however, Ben Van De Waal who has displayed many of his Lego clock escapements on YouTube, suggested that the model displayed in this video was actually a version of Galileo's escapement with recoil unlocking. Ben Van De Waal also offered the following insight: the escapement obstructs the free motion of the pendulum - since the pallet that goes down in the wheel is prevented from going deeper, the pendulum cannot go farther to the right to reach its natural turning point. As it presses against the escapement pin, it still has enough kinetic energy so as to push somewhat farther to the effect that the scapewheel is pushed down (look at its axis). This shortcoming of the recoil escapement is not present in the usual Galileo set up where the unlocking swing is unlimited, and locking is not done by the pendulum. The best solution is unlocking by the pendulum, by recoil, and locking by the rotating scapewheel itself, which is possible, but very difficult to realize with Lego.
Watch an ensemble clock escapement driven by the force of gravity, electrostatics, and electrical power at:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviEQ-C7DhFdyYKAKIA2d1159
#legoEscapement #LegoClockMechanism #ClockEscapement #MechanicalOscillator
#SimpleHarmonicMotion
This is a Lego version of Galileo's escapement that dates back to early 17th century Europe, before Huygens developed a more accurate mechanism.
As the pendulum swings to the left, the left arm of the prong (black) releases (unlocks) the escape wheel with an obvious recoil; when the pendulum swings to the right, the right arm of the prong (red) locks the wheel.
Originally I named this model 'Recoil Escapement', however, Ben Van De Waal who has displayed many of his Lego clock escapements on YouTube, suggested that the model displayed in this video was actually a version of Galileo's escapement with recoil unlocking. Ben Van De Waal also offered the following insight: the escapement obstructs the free motion of the pendulum - since the pallet that goes down in the wheel is prevented from going deeper, the pendulum cannot go farther to the right to reach its natural turning point. As it presses against the escapement pin, it still has enough kinetic energy so as to push somewhat farther to the effect that the scapewheel is pushed down (look at its axis). This shortcoming of the recoil escapement is not present in the usual Galileo set up where the unlocking swing is unlimited, and locking is not done by the pendulum. The best solution is unlocking by the pendulum, by recoil, and locking by the rotating scapewheel itself, which is possible, but very difficult to realize with Lego.
Watch an ensemble clock escapement driven by the force of gravity, electrostatics, and electrical power at:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviEQ-C7DhFdyYKAKIA2d1159
#legoEscapement #LegoClockMechanism #ClockEscapement #MechanicalOscillator
#SimpleHarmonicMotion
