Universal Thermodynamic Law Governing Stochastic Pendulum Clocks

Abstract

Clocks' performance, especially their precision, is fundamentally limited by thermodynamic laws as they are physical devices. Yet, it is known that the established thermodynamic uncertainty relation (TUR), which imposes an upper bound on the uncertainty product of the precision of oscillations and entropy production, is violated for underdamped systems such as stochastic pendulum clocks. Here, we show that for a general class of stochastic pendulum clocks described as a weakly nonlinear oscillator the uncertainty product of the phase of a pendulum clock and entropy production takes a universal and simple form that depends solely on the degree of nonlinearity. Its validity and limitations are examined using several representative models of pendulum clocks. Our framework reveals a universal thermodynamic principle governing stochastic pendulum clocks beyond the conventional TUR and provides a foundation for designing optimal pendulum clocks that operate efficiently in stochastic environments.