Uploaded October 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Verge escapement, tested with several modes of regulation, including inertial oscillator, magnetic repulsion, varying weights, and balance spring.
Chapters
00:15 Balance wheel runs as inertial oscillator
01:00 Magnetic repulsion with varying driving weights
03:33 Harmonic oscillations with balance spring
04:30 Top view of balance spring
Notice the pronounce recoil, of nearly 60 degrees, produced by the balance-wheel rotational inertia. Most of the wheel’s mass is distributed along its perimeter, far from the axis of rotation, making it difficult to halt and reverse the rotation.
In the magnetic repulsion mode, the recoil is barely perceptible. When one arm of the blue pallet fork releases an escape- wheel tooth, magnetic repulsion counteracts the rotational-inertia torque and reverses direction of the balance-wheel rotation (Newton’s third law of motion).
Finally, the escapement is regulated by a balance spring (AKA hairspring) — a spiral torsion spring. After the escapement reaches steady state, the top view of the balance wheel reveals a recoil of nearly 60 degrees.
Torsional constant of the 3D-printed balance spring: K = 4.65*10^-6 Newton*meter
Watch other Lego Verge Escapements in action:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviH38uCdbc6uum38vKZjXGyE
Music in this video: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 "Moonlight"
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
From the Complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-32 cycle recorded 1983-84
Artist: Daniel Barenboim
#LegoEscapement #ClockEscapement #SimpleHarmonicMotion #LegoClockMechanism #MechanicalOscillator #diyphysicsclock
Verge escapement, tested with several modes of regulation, including inertial oscillator, magnetic repulsion, varying weights, and balance spring.
Chapters
00:15 Balance wheel runs as inertial oscillator
01:00 Magnetic repulsion with varying driving weights
03:33 Harmonic oscillations with balance spring
04:30 Top view of balance spring
Notice the pronounce recoil, of nearly 60 degrees, produced by the balance-wheel rotational inertia. Most of the wheel’s mass is distributed along its perimeter, far from the axis of rotation, making it difficult to halt and reverse the rotation.
In the magnetic repulsion mode, the recoil is barely perceptible. When one arm of the blue pallet fork releases an escape- wheel tooth, magnetic repulsion counteracts the rotational-inertia torque and reverses direction of the balance-wheel rotation (Newton’s third law of motion).
Finally, the escapement is regulated by a balance spring (AKA hairspring) — a spiral torsion spring. After the escapement reaches steady state, the top view of the balance wheel reveals a recoil of nearly 60 degrees.
Torsional constant of the 3D-printed balance spring: K = 4.65*10^-6 Newton*meter
Watch other Lego Verge Escapements in action:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviH38uCdbc6uum38vKZjXGyE
Music in this video: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 "Moonlight"
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
From the Complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-32 cycle recorded 1983-84
Artist: Daniel Barenboim
#LegoEscapement #ClockEscapement #SimpleHarmonicMotion #LegoClockMechanism #MechanicalOscillator #diyphysicsclock
