Anchor escapement clockmaker George Graham around 1715. This gradually superseded the recoil escapement and is used in virtually all modern pendulum clocks with anchor escapements. The anchor escapement consists of two parts: the "escape wheel", which is a vertical wheel with pointed teeth on it rather like saw teeth, and the "anchor", shaped vaguely like a ship's anchor, which swings back and forth on a pivot just above the escape wheel. On the two arms of the anchor are curved and flat faces which the teeth of the escape wheel push against, called "pallets". The central shaft of the anchor is attached
Mechanical energy at the pivot are negligible, energy passes back and forth between kinetic and potential energy but never leaves the system. The pendulum reaches greatest kinetic energy and least potential energy when in the vertical position, because it will have the greatest speed and be nearest the Earth at this point. On the other hand, it will have its least kinetic energy and greatest potential energy at the extreme positions of its swing, because it has zero speed and is farthest from Earth at these points. However, when taking the frictional forces into account, the system loses mechanical energy with each