How Does It Know? Quartz Watches & Clocks
Chemically, quartz is a specific form of a compound called silicon dioxide. Quartz is a piezoelectric material: that is, when a quartz crystal is subject to mechanical stress, such as bending, it accumulates an electrical charge across some of its planes ...
In some ways this is far more astonishing than a collection of springs and gears.
I think part of the disconnect that quartz watches suffer is that they have the "Black Box" effect whereas mechanical watches allow us to see and (at least pretend to) understand the mechanism and its effects.
Thanks for the explanation.
I didn't know that the same “mechanism” or reaction was used on low-end phonograph cartridges: just out of curiosity, what other “mechanism” is used on high-end phonograph cartridges? Best, Emmanuel
Moving magnet and coil
that version needs a small external power supply and the coils shown in Greg's post, to create a magnetic field through which the magnet moves
I have not owned a quartz watch in
many, many years but am seriously considering jumping back in with my next watch purchase. Strongly thinking about the Cartier tank watch in quartz, A. never need to wind/set B. Just want to try a quartz watch again. C. No one will be the wiser, and D. It...
We are the customers
…of the watch industry. And the customer is always right, even if the customer has changed his mind, and no explanation for the change of mind is required.
I know some are ideologically opposed to quartz…
But frankly it’s been practically the last real innovation in the watch world, albeit around 100 years old itself 😂 I often enjoy a nicely done quartz watch, even though those are few and far between 😊👍🏻 Doesn’t quite manage the 5 seconds a year on the cu...
I feel the same way
Star on dial indicates high-accuracy crystal movement Notice alignment of the second hand! Notice alignment of the second hand! Besides I like the revenue stream $10 at a time with batteries $.50-1.00 each... At this rate I can pay for the watches in abou...
Thanks for posting this
The shaped quartz crystal absorbs electrical energy as it bends and then returns it as it unbends. Just like how a balance spring stores up energy and then returns it as movement of the balance wheel, once per oscillation. The gross energy thus stored div...