Pendulum clocks always have it …. the second hand that jumps from one index to the next, completely in time with the pendulum belonging to the clock. The length of a pendulum and thus its frequency determines the number of steps or jumps of the second hand per revolution, i.e. per minute. Long pendulums – few jumps, short pendulums – many jumps.
With the seconds pendulum, as its name suggests, this effect is most balanced. For each beat of the pendulum, the second hand takes one step, i.e. exactly 60 steps per minute. This is, so to speak, the absolute “master version”!
In the field of watches, this is completely different. Here, the second hand makes many small steps due to the high frequency of the oscillator, i.e. the balance wheel. To be precise, at a frequency of 18000 oscillations per hour, 300 steps per minute, i.e. 5 per second. You could think that the hand glides…. Nowadays, 28800 oscillations per hour are the norm at watches, which means 480 steps per minute and 8 per second.