Escapement the escapement. The deadbeat was first used in precision regulator clocks, but due to greater accuracy superseded the anchor in the 19th century. It is used in almost all modern pendulum clocks except for tower clocks which often use gravity escapements. Invented around 1741 by Louis Amant, this version of a deadbeat escapement can be made quite rugged. Instead of using teeth, the escape wheel has round pins that are stopped and released by a scissors-like anchor. This escapement, which is also called Amant escapement or (in Germany) Mannhardt escapement, is used quite often in tower clocks. The detent or
Escapement is made from a special steel alloy with 36% nickel called Invar whose length changes very little with temperature, swings as free of external influence as possible sealed in a vacuum chamber and does no work. It is in mechanical contact with its escapement for only a fraction of a second every 30 seconds. A secondary "slave" pendulum turns a ratchet, which triggers an electromagnet slightly less than every thirty seconds. This electromagnet releases a gravity lever onto the escapement above the master pendulum. A fraction of a second later (but exactly every 30 seconds), the motion of the master