Big Ben: Making sure the Great Clock strikes on time

[@namowal]

I'm glad that wonderful clock is so well taken care of. Thanks to everyone involved.

[@stephensnell1379]

It would fall apart if it was neglected

[@ladystardust-ux6ft]

its a very iconic clock not only that, its featured on memoriable events such as new years eve, veterans day, 102 dalmatians, etc... its a masterpiece!

[@davidnissim9203]

I was outside the Parliament House when Big Ben struck noon, and I must say that it was one of the best clock strikes I've ever heard

[@nicholashoi3155]

Hope you're not deaf

[@aixrozes]

Nicholas Hoi he’s not deaf, it’s loud outside but it doesn’t make you deaf if you are in the belfry then it’s obvious you will get deaf is he in the belfry? No so he’s not deaf

[@handyandy6050]

@@nicholashoi3155 Pardon?

[@TheMarkyMarx]

Magnificent. The most amazing clock, tower and bell in the world.

[@NicholasWingComposer]

May God forever bless Queen Elizabeth II and the special relationship between the U.K. and the U.S., which was so critically important during the Second World War, in the defeat of the Nazis and in the liberation of Europe. May Big Ben and the Westminster clock chime on forever.

[@differentworld3230]

Ehtisham plz join me on f.b

[@Halebopp97]

God bless the people.

[@GrnArrow092]

A machine is only as efficient as those who take care of it, but we don't have to worry about that with a fine crew taking care of this clock which in my opinion is a great British icon.

[@jriley1992]

I want to go see it one day! I would love to just travel the world, that would make me very happy.

[@sugarray7469]

jriley1992 you gotta be British to go in. But you can see it from outside. It is currently not chiming due to repairs. You see, Big Ben is a very old clock tower. It’s been chiming since 1859. It’s currently 160 years old. It needs lots of repairs. And to guarantee the health and safety of the workers doing repairs, Big Ben had to be shut off. But he will chime for special days such as Remembrance Day and New Years. The repairs are to be complete in 2021, and that’s when Big Ben goes back to normal again.

[@morbius109]

Big Ben is the sound of London. Old, glorious sounding, beautiful landmark of Western civilization. He's been ringing in the hours for London since the days of Queen Victoria, and he is magnificent. God preserve Britain.

[@itsmephil2255]

Good to see that traditional methods are still used...adding pennies

[@RodrigoBoosBR]

Thank you for posting the video, cheers from Brazil!

[@TheBellsandwhistles]

pigeonhouse is right but when you set a stopwatch to the speaking clock you don't react to the third pip, you anticipate it based on the first two so your accuracy in starting the watch is more like 0.005 seconds if you've got good rythm. Plenty good enough for a pendulum clock time check.

[@halnwheels]

@BartBassist Let me expain why adding weight actually increases the rate of the penculum swing. It's because the weight is being added above the "center of oscillation" of the pendulum. The calculations are complex but the idea is simple... the same weight added below the center of occilation would slow the pendulum - at the bob for instance. But where the weight is being added is very close to the top. Nice series of videos. Thank you.

[@stephensnell5707]

You mean Pendulum

[@baileykeen1226]

RIP chime till 2021

[@May1south]

I used to know someone whose father, in the 1920's, was in charge of maintenance of all the public clocks in London, including the one associated with Big Ben. Unfortunately, he died in 1929.

[@Jhihmoac]

It has to be pretty accurate, as there are still people who set their watches in accordance with the chiming of Big Ben itself...and some will make a nasty call to the clock management if it is off...

[@brilliantfranz]

Thnks for uploading,. Cheers form Venezuela

[@10brownblair]

congratulations on such a great vid

[@aNdReA123400]

ive been to London 1 time I actually got to go to see big ben chime

[@heavymetaltiger4707]

I think this melody in big beg clock's is very great and coll

[@joerickard2656]

I’ve always wanted to go inside to see every thing sense I was 3 years old

[@ShokaLion]

@denelson83 The talking clock uses the same time signal as the MSF signal. I'd guess it's just a more convenient way of doing things. You're still going to have to go up there with a stopwatch whatever you do, so to take ten seconds to get the time reference from the talking clock makes sense to me.

[@BostonSteve922]

absolutely amazing

[@pigeonshouse]

@Logixmaster Someone whose practised can react to a familiar sound within 0.10 of a second, I imagine someone whose *really practised* can react to a sound within a smaller time frame. However, it will be insignificant by the time the sound has travelled 180ft to the ground (which is where a majority will hear it) - as the sound wave will have only travelled 126 feet in that time.

[@dagenhamdaveNo1]

one penny + two-fiths of a second - amazing

[@gavinola]

It is amazing isn't it, the time keeper has to do this every week.

[@chenfungliew8337]

The smaller bells is like the hammer is knocking a sandy bell that is a little bit of sand on the outside

[@G6JPG]

If you mean the sound, it's probably just the recording equipment being overloaded; they're a pretty pure sound.

[@ahmeda2766]

Great clock. Thank you

[@fluxgenerator]

The Penny !! just amazing

[@G6JPG]

± 0.4 seconds a day per penny! (And _adding_ them makes it go _faster_ , as it raises its centre of gravity, thus in effect making the pendulum _shorter_ .)

[@GrnArrow092]

That makes me curious if anyone has accidentally dropped any of those old coins down into the pendulum chamber. Also, I wonder if there would be a more efficient way of keeping the clock's accuracy in check because it looks like with a swinging pendulum, some of the coins could fall down into the pendulum chamber. I may not be British (I'm American) but I definately think this clock is awesome and I hope it keeps ticking for many years to come.

[@stephensnell5707]

The Pennies would only fall off of the Pendulum if it was swinging too fast

[@G6JPG]

(Thank you; so do we!) It doesn't swing through a very big arc/angle, or very fast.

[@hannahdavies7388]

Amazing how considering they started to build this in the 19th century no steel scaffolding back then wonder how they got the big bell up there.

[@G6JPG]

The heartbeat of the nation.

[@LBR.2024]

Chime starts at 1:18

[@BartBassist]

@BexterzzNY The coins add a tiny bit of weight to the pendulum, increasing its momentum and causing it to swing marginally faster.

[@G6JPG]

Not increasing its momentum, but raising its centre of gravity, thus making it effectively (microscopically) shorter. The momentum wouldn't affect its period.

[@eangsyerbic6942]

1:39 DOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGG

[@bestoftristen3661]

1:17 LOUD Big Ben clock 🕰 chiming across LONDON

[@georgetastanca4867]

Nice video!

[@Ajch3n1664]

1:18 good part

[@Ajch3n1664]

Your not lying

[@wilkes85]

That's amasing! keeping it accurate with pennies.

[@naota3k]

I know this was posted almost a decade ago, but do they *really* still phone a speaking-clock to get the correct time to set with? Also HOLY CRAP when the Great Bell tolled!

[@JuanHerrero]

Why change what works?

[@KRPTV]

Until I saw this video I always thought the speaking clock got it's source from Big Ben not the other way round.

[@stephensnell5707]

It wasn't that long ago This Video was only posted back in 2009

[@oliviaalwen2142]

1:18 the chimes of the 16 notes starts

[@edwardromana]

The clock movement is obsolete it should be sent to a museum. The clock hands over the beautiful facade and its iconic chimes should be driven by a step motor whose pendulum control are the oscillation of a hydrogen maser adjusted for leap second

[@stephensnell1379]

Big Ben is an iconic timepiece as the video shows and it should remain where it is in London There is nothing wrong with it and no it's not obselete at all and never will be You are extremely dumb

[@stephensnell5707]

It would fail more often if it was modernised,leaving it as it is is the best,old things are the most reliable

[@damndudewayne8118]

I hope I meet big ben

[@pigeonshouse]

....and yes I know it should be 'who has' rather than whose but my writing style changed half way through writing this and didn't proofred wot I had writted.

[@legostarwarsheadquarters3708]

1:16 big ben and the quarter hour bells chime

[@denelson83]

Why not just use the MSF signal or GPS instead to sync the chimes?

[@streetspitzley4876]

I love big ben

[@theboywhodroveaway7954]

Yes me too!

[@kotidze]

Oolllll

[@FurbyGaming125]

Me too

[@theindeedsealhd2935]

Street Spitzley i love it too

[@mistypicou9476]

I agree with you

[@nicholasfranklin5355]

I love your clock tower in really want to visit big ben but my parents don't have enough money

[@G6JPG]

You have to book the visit through your MP anyway (allegedly only for British citizens too), I'm afraid. It wasn't really designed and built for lots of visitors.

[@nightfox93wlf]

I WANT YOUR WORK!!!

[@gabemcdowell4465]

Make sure Ben 10 strikes on time xD

[@WilsonTomines]

You cannot use headphones

[@BartBassist]

@ytrogergt No, I mean slightly faster. Adding weight adds momentum.

[@G6JPG]

Not momentum; it shortens the effective length, by raising the centre of gravity.

[@olafsamusch3000]

1:15 start of chime

[@unfitforconsumption]

Also the start of an earrape

[@davelane6176]

I didn't realize how big it is inside big Ben

[@stephensnell1379]

You must realise the name Big Ben refers to only the 13 and a half ton bell in the Elizabeth Tower The 4 quarter bells sit around Big Ben as the video shows

[@G6JPG]

The Elizabeth tower (housing the clock mechanism, and the bells including "Ben") is quite a large structure. (If it wasn't, the lean of about 9 inches [at the level of the clock] would be more of a concern.)

[@fmBillion]

Calling up the talking clock 3 times a week? Cor... I bet their phone bill is a lot, the talking clock costs a bloody fortune.

[@stephensnell5707]

You prune,that is only for 10 seconds so it would not be that large

[@presbyterosBassI]

Westclox also made a pocket watch called "Pocket Ben".

[@deathvalley006]

The lowest chime bell(not the hour bell)has 2 hammers on it right?

[@G6JPG]

Yes, because one of the sequences uses it twice in a shorter time than is mechanically convenient, so it was easier to use two hammers on it.

[@stormtracker8597]

1:39 R.I.P Headphone users

[@darrent6814]

1:18 Chimes

[@dahilaguirrecorona2672]

I want chimes

[@1996sampsa]

Hi! Would somebody tell me, is it possible to visit Elizabeth Tower if I am not a british citizen?

[@marymcmaster9189]

You may be allowed to visit but not go inside.

[@shannondelaney3298]

1:32 you can hear the mecanizum's grinding

[@anizamansor3362]

Shannon Delaney yes I hear it

[@naota3k]

mechanism :)

[@jacobholmes7473]

It’s the fly fans.

[@sirofilm604]

present time in 3:00

[@singinglift409]

I HAVE A QUESTION HOW DOES THE STRIKE TRAIN KNOW HOW MANY TIMES TO STRIKE BIG BEN

[@pigeonshouse]

@fmBillion Hehe I suspect BT (or whoever runs the speaking clock nowadays) and the management of the Houses of Parliament have probably struck a deal somewhere along the lines of history.

[@McmullenEJ]

He put the penny down for a couple seconds for demo purposes so now the clock is gonna slowly register in time and make the month of february longer in the year 3448 or somn like that... XD ah computation..

[@mattd5147]

So they use an American penny to adjust the time on one of the UK's greatest icons? Never would have saw that coming.

[@Thomashorsman]

It's an old English pre-decimal penny, he said that in the video

[@shannondelaney3298]

like i said the coins shift the pendulums senter or gravity & bells are WhiteChapel bell foundry cast

[@alfredsharp239]

I find 1:35 so funny idk why

[@TotallyMr.IPhone]

The Big Bell of a Big Ben is Very Loud When The Hammer Strikes The Bell After The Quarter Bells Chimes.

[@JayBe678]

Just as well he didn't knock the pile of coins off at the end ! Why ring the speaking clock for the check, why not use a digital radio controlled clock to get the exact time?

[@stephensnell5707]

Digital is not always the best

[@derCarilloneur]

Nein, das ist nicht so, man meint es nur. Über dem Hammer siehst du ja noch eine Stange, und da sind 2 Gummis dran, so änlich wie Türstopper, und die halten den Hammer ca 5-10mm von der Glocke weg, also man kann es nicht erkennen!

[@pigeonshouse]

@kensai7gr Aah you see that's the thing. It's not actually accurate at all when compared to an atomic clock, but 'we British' love things that are fallible - I mean what other country could get away with producing both the Reliant Robin and the Spitfire.

[@TomTom-dq2id]

Yes. From the inside.

[@FurbyGaming125]

0:51 Is Ian Still Alive?

[@lordvadershorts1987]

Yes

[@WilsonTomines]

1:39 WARNING YOUR EARS MIGHT WILL BLEED

[@stephensnell1379]

That's only if you're right near the bell when it goes off

[@KCandFriendsUSA]

1:18 You Beat night 5

[@FurbyGaming125]

1:14 Dat Headphones

[@iamneoweisheng89]

cool!!!

[@awells051190]

How do they change the time on Daylight savings days?

[@sukanyajuntamat8162]

ด

[@Greenpoloboy3]

i think they have a big bag of the old coins that they use like he said at the end

[@J19_vlogger74]

I don't really know the only things I know about clock towers and bills are what I've learned off of videos I have watched I've never been in a clock or Bell Tower before

[@stephensnell5707]

​@@Greenpoloboy3 no that is not the way it is done,there is a youtube video called-Big Ben-Changing the time on the great clock,search it on youtube

[@Greenpoloboy3]

@@J19_vlogger74 I havent, but been near to Big Ben. There they keep the old tradition they've had since it was built is my understanding. Must be cool to see

[@grobifrank1976]

Bleibt das Schlagwerk nach dem Schlag etwa auf der Glocke liegen? Klingt irgendwie nicht so, als könnte sie frei nachklingen, oder kommt das nur bei diesem Video so rüber?? Klärt mich mal auf!

[@G6JPG]

The hammers do not remain in contact with the bells after striking it. As you say, that would inhibit it from ringing properly.

[@legostarwarsheadquarters3708]

1:18 big ben chimes

[@jamiebales8394]

I wouldn't of thought ear muffs would be good enough.

[@Liftmaster-sw2zy]

there noise dampening ear muffs

[@stephensnell5707]

​@@Liftmaster-sw2zy you mean they're

[@StompersGLA]

Sorry but non-British citizens are no longer allowed to have a tour of the Elizabeth tower. :(

[@lizagrekoulova1409]

Does it strike at night?

[@GrnArrow092]

Yes. It strikes every 15 minutes with the hour bell striking every hour day and night.

[@katze8421]

I was not even born that time that’s almost near my birthday ;-;

[@WilsonTomines]

1:18 VOLUME LOWER

[@shiellafontanilla9581]

Big. Ben

[@Gaming65961]

Why is the bell hammer hit so fast 1:24

[@G6JPG]

That's just the tune; that particular set of four notes use the same bell as first and last note.

[@Gamer_Tanks]

1:14, chime

[@alishamcdonald7316]

1:39 1:38

[@TheSfer9999]

me gusta solo que no entiendo

[@legostarwarsheadquarters3708]

this is how it goes. Bell: Big Ben. Tower: Elizabeth tower. Clock: The great Westminster clock

[@shiellafontanilla9581]

Why hayp

[@tn21beer]

Very

[@ioKarush]

1:14 the quders rining

[@stephensnell5707]

You mean quarters

[@Invisible_Socks]

Man I would muck it up - placing the pennies - I would accidentally hit them and they'd all spill off lol

[@rufusgreenleaf2466]

Then the clock would be a billion years out of sync.

[@G6JPG]

Although I've never seen any mention of it, I'd be surprised if it hasn't happened! However, they do keep a logbook of how many there are, so it wouldn't be difficult to put the right number back. Since one penny only makes a difference of 0.4 seconds a _day_ , a minute or two's swinging without the right number of (or any) pennies, while they look in the book and retrieve the pennies (though I expect they have spares anyway), wouldn't make an appreciable difference - far less than the tolerance of the man operating the stopwatch.

[@Kell1295]

Takes a licking and keeps on ticking!

[@nikunjabiharimandal3304]

KZbin: 9 years a g o gsuekdythh

[@thinkcubeydr.shulker9888]

I personally enjoy grilled sandwiches

[@detectiveconanchannel6470]

0:01:18

[@aidanstrand4864]

01:18

[@NeilPrasad_1905]

Pause time detected - 9 seconds 30 hundredths

[@claudiaclover4395]

It's actually not called Big Ben It is called Elizabeth the second. The 4th bell inside it is called Big Ben.

[@theboywhodroveaway7954]

Claudia Clover No the hour bell is called ''big ben.''

[@dannylagangonzalez6832]

The tower is known as the "Elizabeth tower"

[@theboywhodroveaway7954]

Ah, thank you very much.

[@anastasiaashworth633]

Doesn't matter; everyone (unofficially) calls the whole clock Big Ben. Kindly stop being so pedantic.

[@G6JPG]

@@anastasiaashworth633 We _like_ being pedantic; if we weren't of that mindset, we'd have fitted a different mechanism decades ago.