General Information

Serial #

94

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

COPPER? CASING/ GLASS COVER/ BRASS MECHANISM PARTS/ STEEL PARTS/ BRASS TELESCOPE WITH GLASS LENSES ETC./ GOLD STRIPING

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

N/A

Width

N/A

Height

N/A

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Horology

Category

Clocks

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

RIEFLER

Country

Germany

State/Province

Unknown

City

Munich

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

New Brunswick

Period

1904 TO CIRCA 1930

Canada

A CLOCK USED TO REGULATE TIME TO OBSERVATORIES, RAILWAYS, TOWNS, & CITIES IN THE MARITIMES FROM THE OBSERVATORY IN SAINT JOHN. THE TIME SIGNALS WERE SENT BY TELEGRAPH. THE RIEFLER NO. 94 CLOCK WAS ACQUIRED IN 1904; THE ORDER HAD BEEN PLACED IN 1902-1903 WHEN THE OBSERVATORY WAS BEING REFURBISHED.

Function

AN INSTRUMENT USED TO MAINTAIN SIDEREAL TIME TO A HIGH DEGREE OF ACCURACY BY COMPARISON WITH ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE WITH A TRANSIT TELESCOPE. STANDARD TIME WAS THEN DERIVED.

Technical

AN EXAMPLE OF A RIEFLER SIDEREAL CLOCK, DESIGNED BY DR. SIGMUND RIEFLER IN 1891. ON EACH BEAT OF THE PENDULUM, A SHORT IMPULSE WAS APPLIED VIA AN ELECTROMAGNET ACTING ON THE SUSPENSION SPRING. THE WORKS WERE HELD WITHIN A VACUUM. ACCURACY REACHED 0.015/DAY. IT WAS THE MOST ACCURATE CLOCK AVAILABLE FROM 1891 TO 1927-28 WHEN THE QUARTZ CRYSTAL CLOCK WAS INVENTED BY WARREN MARRISON, A CANADIAN WORKING IN THE U.S. The clock was set to keep sidereal (star) time [1 sidereal day = 23h 56m and 11s]. Observations of the time for a set of programme stars to return to the meridian from day to day were used to regulate and keep track of the errors of the clock. The pendulum was very precisely made for length (and smoothness to reduce friction with the air) and is given a small pulse on every swing by a mechanical system similar to regulator clocks but, instead of being wound by hand it had an electrically rewound remonitor (ie. you didn't have to wind it up with a key.] This meant that it rarely had to be opened. The case was evacuated to reduce the air and to help control the temperature in the enclosure at a constant T so that the pendulum did not change length and therefore, it's rate. The precision with which this clock was made and able to keep time made it unique. The vacuum/constant temp. enclosure was one innovation along with the electrically rewound remontoir. Riefler developed his design at the end of the 19th c. and it was the most precise at that time and for about 15 years. It kept time to a few seconds per year. [Ref. 4]

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

BLACK LETTERING ON CLOCK FACE READS 'S. Riefler [IN SCRIPT]/ D.R.P. No 50739/ No 94' & 'Munchen [IN SCRIPT]/ DRP No 100870/ 1904'/ INCISED LETTERING ON BACK OF BRASS MECHANISM READS 'RIEFLER/ MUNCHEN' & 'D.R.P./ 50739'

Missing

NONE APPARENT

Finish

BRASS COLOURED MECHANISM, TELESCOPE/ METALLIC DIAL FACE/ BLACK HANDS/ COPPER COLOURED BASE/ BLACK PAINTED PARTS/ WHITE OR OFF-WHITE PAINTED WALL MOUNT/ COLOURLESS TRANSPARENT GLASS

Decoration

GILDED STRIPING ON WALL MOUNT