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List signup  Unit 12  In Sync  12.7 Mechanical Sync   At the
beginning of this unit, we caught a glimpse of the variety of
situations in which synchronization can occur. Up until now, we
have focused primarily on sync as it occurs with living things
that are able to send, receive, and interpret signals. We
hinted, however, at the fact that spontaneous synchronization is
not limited to living beings. It seems to be a fundamental
phenomenon in nature, occurring not only in the realm of
biology, but also in chemistry and physics.  In fact, the first
documented observations of a system coming into spontaneous
order were solidly in the realm of physics. In the 1660s, the
Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens, known primarily for his
contributions to probability, astronomy, and optics, found
himself sick in bed, as the legend goes, observin