Escapement may avoid the need for lubrication in the escapement (though it does not obviate the requirement for lubrication of other parts of the gear train). The accuracy of a mechanical clock is dependent on the accuracy of the timing device. If this is a pendulum, then the period of swing of the pendulum determines the accuracy. If the pendulum rod is made of metal it will expand and contract with heat, shortening or lengthening the pendulum; this changes the time taken for a swing. Special alloys are used in expensive pendulum-based clocks to minimize this distortion. The degrees of arc
Mechanical energy of conservation of mechanical energy states that if a body or system is subjected only to conservative forces, the mechanical energy of that body or system remains constant. The difference between a conservative and a non-conservative force is that when a conservative force moves an object from one point to another, the work done by the conservative force is independent of the path. On the contrary, when a non-conservative force acts upon an object, the work done by the non-conservative force is dependent of the path. According to the principle of conservation of mechanical energy, the mechanical energy of an