grandfather clock?

[2000_flushes]

first, i know that this is not an OU device, and i am not trying to say that it is but i do have a few questions from you guys about an idea that i have that could be just as good as OU but without the trouble of trying to build things that may or may not break natural laws as we know them. 

with the way that a grandfather clock works with the weights and pendulum, we know that it is possible to have a machine that can run on very little input energy and let gravity do the rest keeping it in motion for quite some time..  i did some calcs, and based on what i have found the weights needed and the height needed for them to fall to create very much energy at all are very large. 

what i cant wrap my head around is if we were to take the gear attached to the pendulum, and through a series of gears achieve a gear ratio high enough to speed the final gear at high enough rpms (i do not know the rates needed, i am just asking about the principle of it all) to turn a generator capable of producing power, what is the fallacy in my setup?

i dont mind having to input my own energy into the system every now and then (like once a week) to keep it running via resetting the weights, but this still seems like it is too close to a free lunch to be viable.  maybe if the pendulum shaft is really long and the weights are very heavy...i dont know. either way this would make it cost prohibitive to build anyway.  i also cant see how the potential energy of the weights plays into the gears that eventually drive the generator....can anyone help me see what i am missing?  i keep thinking i am just dealing with a time issue of how long the pendulum is swinging rather than the energy that can be created by the the weights...in my mind the weights are just there to facilitate the pendulum gear to keep moving and that is all.  i am sure this is wrong but i am blinded as to why.

I hope i didnt upset anyone by posting a non-ou device on this forum, but if i can gain energy by spending a few minutes a week using a pulley to move a weight back up to its starting position, i consider it just as good IMHO

BTW, i am enjoying reading the forum.

[jadaro2600]

Welcome, hopefully you continue to enjoy the information here.

I agree with your thoughts about the clock.

The problem with the clock scenario is the provision of continuous electricity or work versus the vary degree of needs on the grid - in other words, it would have to go through a charge bank or some other form of capacitance.

[mscoffman]

While clock mechanisms seem to be a useful source of functionality
for perpetual motion machines...

What you are proposing won't work. The reason is that any generator
will put braking force on it's input shaft proportional to the amount
of energy it is generating on it's output lines, the gear mechanism of the
clock will step this force up or down in terms of RPM but the force
itself will still be there and the energy will still be extracted. The gear
mechanism therefore acts as an AC transformer will act. Electrical Voltage
and Current conceptually linked to mechanical RPM and Torque.

:S:MarkSCoffman

[jadaro2600]

There would be little difference between it and a wind up generator in that case.

[jibbguy]

I would agree with Jadaro, and say that despite the energy in a wind-up clock being returned at an extremely S-L-O-W rate, it is returned eventually with considerable losses.

The pulley & clockwork idea is interesting, as it is a "Doritos and Twinkies to mechanical motion indirect energy conversion" concept that reminds us we could power ourselves with our own energy if we had to in emergency situations.  However, obviously the extremely low drag needed to run a clock is several orders of magnitude less than what is needed for conventional electrical generation of any significance. If we spend 3 or 4 hours a day on a static bicycle or hand crank needing considerable torque to turn, generating power to charge our house battery banks; we will need to consume more Twinkies and Doritos (but it would certainly be an energy-efficient method of getting physical exercise!)

Products We May Someday But Probably Never See: Treadmills, static bicycles, and weight benches attached to alternators/generators. Lol places like "Golds Gym" could maybe even sell power back to the local Utility on a busy day

Hehehe: a pretty girl walks in to the "Power Gym", all the guys stop what they are doing and stare at her "well-fitted" unitard... and the lights go out