Galileo's escapement
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Galileo's escapement is a design for a clock escapement, invented by Galileo Galilei.
Whilst observing, and timing with his pulse, the swinging of lamps in the cathedral at Pisa, Galileo realised that their apparent isochronicity could be used for timekeeping. We now know that the pendulum is only isochronous for extremely small amplitudes, but it was nonetheless a vast improvement on the crude verge escapements of the day, keeping time to perhaps 15 minutes in 24 hours.
