In 1658, when he was only twenty-three, Hooke had already conjectured that the regulator for a marine clock might be made by the “use of Springs instead of Gravity for the making of a Body vibrate in any Posture.” A spring attached to a balance wheel could make the wheel oscillate back and forth around its own center of gravity, thus providing the periodic movement needed to stop and start the clockworks, and so mark the units of time. This crucial insight would make possible the marine clock.
