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VCO tug of war (A tale of two VCOs)

F

Fred Bartoli

John Larkin said:
Joel said:
Christiaan Huygens noticed this first in 1665, except with much
slower oscillators. John Harrison solved it in his work by placing the
'oscillators' [1] in separate rooms.

What's the coupling mechanism with clocks? Just mechanical vibrations
transmitted through their frames and then through the floorboards or some
such?

Yes, that's it. Curiously, they're said to lock in anti-phase.
Pheromones are supposedly the coupling mechanism in menstrual cycle
oscillations "locking"...

Yes, I've heard and observed it. Certainly true in cats, though the
girlfriend, objecting to the idea of her enslavement to others'
pheromones, cited a snow storm of contrary studies sufficient to steal
my thunder. I yielded, lacking the inclination to sort through and
evaluate, and, given the incentive: landing myself in the doghouse if I
'won.' :)

Cheers,
James Arthur


Nowadays, birth-control pills contribute a strong anti-locking effect.

For the French speakers, that even have a strong anti-cloquing effect :)
 
J

John Larkin

For the French speakers, that even have a strong anti-cloquing effect :)


OK, I looked that up in a French-English distionary, and I still don't
get it.

John
 
F

Fred Bartoli

John Larkin said:
OK, I looked that up in a French-English distionary, and I still don't
get it.

Sure. "Etre en cloque", litterally something like "to be blistered" is slang
for to be up the spout.
 
R

Rich Grise

Joel said:
Christiaan Huygens noticed this first in 1665, except with much
slower oscillators. John Harrison solved it in his work by placing the
'oscillators' [1] in separate rooms.

What's the coupling mechanism with clocks? Just mechanical vibrations
transmitted through their frames and then through the floorboards or some
such?

Yes, that's it. Curiously, they're said to lock in anti-phase.

You can demonstrate this quite graphically at home with some string and
a couple of weights. Start with a piece of string strung across a door
frame, at about eye level, It can be taped in place, or whatever. Now,
take two more pieces of string, maybe 18" (1/2m) long, and tie them
at 1/3 and 2/3 the length of the horizontal string, and attach a weight
of some kind to the end of each, preferable equal weithts. (a fishing
sinker, a stack of washers, whatever. You should have this:


----------------------------
| |
| |
| |
| |
|--__ __--|
| --__ __-- |
| +----------+ |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| O O |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
-------------------------------------------

(which should be obvious which is strings and which is weights)

Pick one of the weights and pull it toward you and release it, to make it
a pendulum that's swinging through the doorway.

Watch and see what happens. :)

Cheers!
Rich
 
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