Impulse Clock - James Searle, Melbourne, 1931
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1931
Electric impulse clock, made by James Searle, Melbourne, 1931. Commissioned by Melbourne clock collector John Askew to demonstrate the use of the Hipp principle in timekeeping.
Mathias Hipp of Germany designed an electrical impulse clock in the 1830s in which the pendulum received an electro-mechanical impulse only when its swing had decreased sufficiently to trigger an electromagnet. The pendulum drove a ratchet wheel which in turn drove the clock train. Clocks designed to the Hipp principle continued to be used as master clocks into the 20th century. Clock mechanism is suspended on a polished backboard.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Dimensions
- 137 cm (Length), 23 cm (Width)
Identification
- Candidate id
- mv-405254
- Museum object number
- ST 19105
- Source note
- Facts transcribed from the linked single-object source. Wider type attribution and authenticity have not been independently verified.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type and source attribution against specialist references.