Re:'Temperamental' Big Ben was ringing up to six seconds late
by ealexhudson on Wednesday August 26, 2015 @04:13AM
(#10121730)
It's basically the fixed-chord problem, plus changes in friction / temperature / humidity etc. over time probably means the thing runs at varying rates.
For such a famous clock you would think they'd create some kind of perfectly accurate weight, but I guess this gives them more control (Easier to add and remove weight, and why make custom weights when you have a few in your pocket?!)