Basically, a pendulum is any suspended object which is able to swing. The application of a pendulum can be used in a number of devices. The most common application for the pendulum is for regulating clocks. The suggestion for this use was made by both Gallileo and Leonardo da Vinci, yet the first practical pendulum clock was not produced until 1656, by Christian Huygens.
The pendulum operates by means of a gradually lowering weight that drives the hands. The pendulum governs the rate at which the hands move. Some of the energy discharged by the weight is distributed to the pendulum in order to create an impulse on each swing and at the same time retain the pendulum's movement.
The grandfather clock is probably the best known form of pendulum clock, the pendulum is usually hidden from view behind a front door in the clocks body.
