The Huygens Synchronization
Two whitecoats at the University of Lisbon have mathematically explained the Huygens synchronization, the effect observed when two pendulum clocks hung next to each other on a common wall will always synchronize after a short time. The nearly unmeasurable perturbations which propagate through the wall will act on each other to gradually bring the two clocks into opposition, yielding a perfect counter-synchronization of the two pendulums. In English: After a half hour or so, the pendulums will always end up swinging in opposite directions in perfect sync.
The researchers compare it to the way the cells of our heart will synchronize in exact opposition to produce a pumping action. The principle at work is that all things in nature will seek balance whenever possible. This can be seen universally on any scale you can imagine, from atomic vibration to electric motors to the arms of spiral galaxies. Try performing similar actions with both hands -- like rubbing your belly and your head -- at the same time but out of sync; it's extremely difficult to do for any length of time, as your hands want to sync up. The best you can probably accomplish is two frequencies on the same divisor: half speed, quarter speed, etc.
In a way, Huygens synchronization is the principle which makes the universe go round. The question which comes to mind is this: do we perceive the effects of this tendency toward synchronization as elegant, or does it only seem elegant because our capacity for reason is born of it? It's a larger version of the logical fallacy that the earth had to be designed and created by higher intelligence because the conditions are perfect for human life. The reality, of course, is that the conditions are perfect for humans because we evolved here. A life form which evolved in a methane atmosphere would see Earth as a version of hell.
Flawed as that creationist argument may be, however, when you apply the principle of synchronization to the universe as a whole... Well, I'm not one to believe in higher powers, either benign or malicious, but I sometimes wonder if I'm not going to wake up one morning to the sight of a giant whitecoat peering at me through a microscope.
The researchers compare it to the way the cells of our heart will synchronize in exact opposition to produce a pumping action. The principle at work is that all things in nature will seek balance whenever possible. This can be seen universally on any scale you can imagine, from atomic vibration to electric motors to the arms of spiral galaxies. Try performing similar actions with both hands -- like rubbing your belly and your head -- at the same time but out of sync; it's extremely difficult to do for any length of time, as your hands want to sync up. The best you can probably accomplish is two frequencies on the same divisor: half speed, quarter speed, etc.
In a way, Huygens synchronization is the principle which makes the universe go round. The question which comes to mind is this: do we perceive the effects of this tendency toward synchronization as elegant, or does it only seem elegant because our capacity for reason is born of it? It's a larger version of the logical fallacy that the earth had to be designed and created by higher intelligence because the conditions are perfect for human life. The reality, of course, is that the conditions are perfect for humans because we evolved here. A life form which evolved in a methane atmosphere would see Earth as a version of hell.
Flawed as that creationist argument may be, however, when you apply the principle of synchronization to the universe as a whole... Well, I'm not one to believe in higher powers, either benign or malicious, but I sometimes wonder if I'm not going to wake up one morning to the sight of a giant whitecoat peering at me through a microscope.
posted by Jar(egg)head at 13:18
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