Big Ben is adjusted with the help of an old British penny
Photo © gazeta.ua
The official name of this popular tourist clock tower of the Palace of Westminster from 2012 sounds like the Tower of Elizabeth.
It was built in 1858, opened - a year later. The dials of the clock are arranged so that they are turned to all four directions of the world. At one time they were made from Birmingham opal, hour hands are made of cast iron, and minute ones are made of copper.
At the base of each dial is an inscription in Latin "Domine salvam fac Reginam nostram Victoriam Primam", which translates as "God Save Our Queen Victoria I". On the perimeter of the tower, another inscription "Laus Deo", that is, "Praise the Lord" or "Thank God", is drawn.
The ringing of the small bells of the clock mechanism notifies about the passage of a quarter of an hour. The big bell rings every hour. The first hammer blow absolutely exactly coincides with the first second of the hour.
Once every two days, the clock mechanism of the Big Ben tower is carefully checked and lubricated. During this procedure, the atmospheric pressure, humidity and air temperature must be taken into account.
Accuracy of the clock is no more than 2 seconds. And, to rectify this situation, the watchmakers use the old English penny (released to the reform of the British monetary system 1971).
It is put on a pendulum, which under the weight of a coin is accelerated by 2.5 seconds per day. So with the help of a penny, the absolute accuracy of the clock is achieved.
