Grasshopper escapement illusion of lights rotating at various speeds about three concentric circumferences on the clock's face. The pendulum speeds up, slows down, and sometimes stops, but returns to the correct time every five minutes. Taylor designed the clock to remind himself of his own mortality. A grasshopper-type escapement is used in an entirely new mechanism intended for wristwatches. This new type of mechanical regulator uses flexible structures both in the escapement and the oscillator. A silicon wheel oscillates about 86,400 times an hour, approximately three times faster than in conventional wristwatches. The initial development was done at the Swiss Center for
Controlled-release fertiliser Controlled-release fertiliser A controlled-release fertiliser (CRF) is a granulated fertiliser that releases nutrients gradually into the soil (i.e., with a controlled release period). The slowness of the release is determined by the low solubility of the chemical compounds in the soil moisture. Since conventional fertilisers are soluble in water, the nutrients can disperse quickly as the fertiliser dissolves. Because controlled-release fertilisers are not water-soluble, their nutrients disperse into the soil more slowly. The fertiliser granules may have an insoluble substrate or a semi-permeable jacket that prevents dissolution while allowing nutrients to flow outward. The Association of American Plant Food Control