Glashütte Trash Clock – A 30-minute pendulum clock made from trash
2 days ago
- The Glashütte Trash Clock is a fully functional mechanical clock built from trash and found materials in Glashütte, Saxony.
- It runs for only about half an hour, displaying seconds and minutes, and strikes a gong when the minute hand reaches 12 o'clock.
- The project was inspired by the artist's Swiss watchmaker ancestors and an artist residency at NOMOS in Glashütte.
- A pendulum was used as the timekeeping element; its oscillation frequency depends only on length and gravity, not the bob's weight.
- An escapement with an anchor and 30-tooth wheel was built from trash, using bent metal and paperclips, to keep the pendulum swinging and count oscillations.
- Energy is stored in a weighted paint can with scrap metal, using pulleys from a salvaged toy construction kit to double the runtime.
- A reduction drive made of friction wheels moves the minute hand; lifting the axle allows manual setting of the minute hand.
- A glass bottle gong, triggered by a cam and independent weight (a rubber boot), strikes at 12 o'clock, with a two-step warning mechanism for precise timing.
- A random complication features a wheel of fortune labeled 'NOW' and 'NEVER,' triggered just before the clock runs out of energy.
- Tracking the pendulum with video showed the clock's 'second' averaged 1.004 seconds, accurate to about 0.4%.
- The article explains time scales like GMT, UTC, TAI, and leap seconds, and introduces GTC (Glashütte Trash Clock time), a new global reference time based on the trash clock.
- The project concludes with thanks to the NOMOS team, family, and links to manuals, photos, and data.