Clock going backwards

[jacob]

Hi,

anyone knows the phenomena of a quarts wall clock starting to go backwards?
In my extended family a clock (year old) started suddenly to go backwards. Since there were some anomalies in this apartment the owner started to think about some paranormal explanations.

I've never heard of a clock going backwards and could find anything about this on the internet (except clocks specifically designed this way, for amusement).

[Topher Cooper]

I can't say that I've ever heard of this happening, but I don't think that a paranormal explanation needs to be invoked.

To simplify a lot of variation almost all clock mechanisms, electronic or mechanical, can be thought of as having two parts: your main clock mechanism that wants to move things (like the hands in a mechanical clock) and a simple periodic part that produces a repeating signal that, on average, has an accurate length (like a pendulum in a mechanical clock or a quartz-crystal based oscillator in an electronic one). The oscillator is compared to the main part of the clock and it slightly retards or speeds it up accordingly.

Now think of wagon wheels in a movie western seemingly moving backward because a periodic "sampling" (the shutter on the movie camera) of an longer term repeating action (the motion of the wheels) results in the spokes being seen slightly before their previously seen position.

It doesn't seem far fetched that an electronic glitch, combined with a weak design (nothing equivalent to a ratchet) could cause that synchronizing mechanism to try to "find" another "solution" to getting the clock to get the "right" answer with each repetition -- i.e., go back one cycle instead of forward one.

Another possibility is that a circuit designed to allow the clock to be moved forward or back in order to set it has gotten activated (that the clock doesn't have that capability doesn't mean that the chip doesn't but that the clocks designers decided to forgo the complication of the extra buttons).

No evidence of paranormal activity here, I would say.

[jacob]

I don't believe there's anything paranormal myself but I just wanted to check it.

I've just never heard of a stop going backwards out of malfunction before.
Also, this family had their family clock (mechanical) stop two times around the time of death when family members died.

So they are a bit superstitious about that kind of thing.

[Topher Cooper]

I've just never heard of a stop [ clock? ] going backwards out of malfunction before.

Neither have I, and it would be a very odd mechanical clock mechanism that would allow it. But electronic circuits are different -- there is no mechanical spring or whatever pushing it in one direction.

So odd, but not uncanny.

Also, this family had their family clock (mechanical) stop two times around the time of death when family members died.

Couldn't say that I would blame them, then. And of course, its impossible to say that something paranormal isn't happening, only that we don't have any reason based on the phenomenon itself to say that it is -- this could happen non-paranormally.

[jacob]

Thanks for spotting the error. Sometimes my thoughts are too ahead of my fingers

Anyway, I'm not saying that is definitely something paranormal but that the family thinks that it is, so another incident with the clock made them think once again of a possible connection to paranormal (if there was one in the first place).

It's just that the family had some seemingly paranormal stuff going on in their life and lately also so they tried to connect.

Thanks, Topher.