Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!dell!rjd
From: rjd@dell.dell.com (Randall J. Davis)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: 50 Hz in Europe... Was the decision political?
Summary: New definition of Hertz?
Message-ID: <4925@dell.dell.com>
Date: 22 Dec 89 18:47:35 GMT
References: <2332@ektools.UUCP> <787@larry.sal.wisc.edu> <8973@cbmvax.commodore.com> <939@rsiatl.UUCP> <42@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz> <1242@bio73.unsw.oz>
Reply-To: rjd@dell.UUCP (Randall J. Davis, )
Organization: Dell Computer Corp., Austin, Tx.
Lines: 19

In article <1242@bio73.unsw.oz> root@bio73.unsw.oz (Karl Redell ) writes:
|60Hz is used for timing considerations.  1 cycle = 1 second.  Among other
|things, this simplifies the construction of clock motors.
|
|karl@bio73.unsw.oz

   Huh???  When did they change the definition of hertz?

   Disregarding that, what *difference* does it make for clock motors?  Last
I checked, there aren't any direct drive analog clocks out there (this said
because most centrally controlled clocks are run off of one pulse/second
through a solenoid setup, and hence aren't really analog though they use an
"analog" face), so *all* clock motors are going to be geared down to run the
hand movements, so what difference does it make if the gear train does a
conversion of, eg. 3600:1 instead of 3000:1????

  This isn't already time for the April Fool's postings, is it?

Randy Davis						UUCP: dell.dell.com!rjd