Timing the stars: Clocks and complexities of precision in eighteenth-century observatories

In the eighteenth century, the sciences and their applications adopted a new attitude based on quantification and, increasingly, on a notion of precision. Within this process, instruments played a significant role. However, while new devices such as the micrometer, telescope, and pendulum clock embodied a formerly unknown potential of precision, this could only be realized by defining a set of practices regulating their application and control. The paper picks up the case of pendulum clocks used in eighteenth-century observatories in order to show the process of learning in the course of which the pendulum clock first became a precision instrument. By examining the results of an especially developed statistical analysis, conducted to compare the performance of eighteenth-century clocks, it highlights the diversity of conditions, attitudes, and manners of handling that are characteristic for the epoch. In this way, it underlines the necessity of standardization of timekeeping practices rather than exclusively focusing on the technological development of clocks. Ultimately, the paper discusses the role of makers and users in order to show the evolution of a precision instrument.

Automated summary

This paper discusses the new attitude of quantification and precision in the sciences and their applications in the 18th century. It focuses on the role of instruments, using the case of pendulum clocks in 18th-century observatories to illustrate the learning process of how they became precision instruments. By analyzing the statistical results, the paper highlights the diversity of conditions and the necessity of standardization in timekeeping practices. It also discusses the roles of makers and users in the evolution of precision instruments.