Plunger "Octopus" Since 1999 home of design culture, leading independent publication for design, architecture, art, photography and graphics. DataBot Harddrive. DataBot Mouse. Woodgrain iPhone Skins - Veer Merchandise. Deer Trophy Puzzle - Veer Merchandise. Marcel Betrisey creations. FLORENCE (Ball clock) I decided to build this clock only to reuse and simplify the Anachrone, for such a good engine deserved to be optimised. After several months of prototype testing I managed to simplify it to the point where one falling ball was communicating enoughenergy to the pendulum for one hour. That's an improvement by a factor of 3599 over the Anachrone.
The rest was mereimplementation... To be torsion free the chassis had to be triangular (a rectangle experiences a 1/100 mm torsion per oscillation, which is enough to dissipate the pendulum's energy). The height was a consequence of the pendulum's length and the dial had to fit in a salad bowl. The materials I picked were steel with some brass as a warming touch. The ball upward movement is achieved this way: a rod pushes the ascending ball through a hole at the bottom of a cup sized to hold five balls. The design for this clock started in May 99 and ran for the first time in November, six months later.