A person who, as they say, in the topic, does not need to explain these terms.
But among our readers there are probably people who have just interested for hours.
So for them we will try to clarify and figure it out.
And let’s start with the quartz watches widespread today.
The main thing For a clear understanding, let’s remember – what is the most important thing in the car? Probably everyone knows this: the main thing is the motor! Plus, of course, the fuel that the engine eats, and the plus of the transmission, which the motor drives, and it converts this movement into rotation of the wheels.
In the clock, everything is in principle the same! And in the quartz too: the role of fuel is played by the battery (usually such as “tablet”), the role of the motor is a quartz crystal, the role of the transmission is a step electric motor that directly forces the arrows.
So, the battery supplies a constant current of the crystal of quartz.
Back in the 80s of the XIX century, Pierre Curie discovered a piezoelectric effect: electricity is produced during the deformation of the crystal.
And vice versa: when exposed to electricity on the crystal, it deforms, vibrates.
Moreover, he does this with a strictly defined frequency, the so -called frequency of his own fluctuations.
In the manufacture of quartz crystals (yes, in industry, an artificially grown, synthesized quartz is used) they are set up at a particular frequency.
It is very stable and much higher than the frequency of oscillations of purely mechanical systems.
In the vast majority of modern quartz hours, it is 32768 Herz! Recall that, for example, the frequency of alternating current in household electrical networks is only 50 herts .
.
.
Why is this, at first glance, a strange number – 32768? It turns out, for a simple reason: this is a deuce in the 15th degree.
Well, the degree could be another-the 14th, 16th, etc.
, this is not so important.
It is precisely the deuce is essential, because our “transmission” is further entering the case – a stepping electric motor.
Before passing the movement to the hands of the clock, he, dividing the initial frequency by two, once again by two, and so 15 times, lowers it to one hertz, as a result of which the second arrow “jumps” exactly once per second.
Here, in fact, is everything from our “main”.
Cornavin Co.
bd.
05.
l 52 610 p Why are quartz clocks good? First of all, they are good a) the accuracy of the course and b) autonomy.
The ultra -high frequency of the “motor” gives the highest accuracy of the course – only a few seconds per month, and this is even in the worst case: the most advanced quartz models deviate from the absolute ideal for a few seconds a year.
So, for example, the 9F mechanism of the Japanese concern SEIKO walks with an accuracy of ± 5 seconds a year! As for autonomy, then everything is clear here: there are enough batteries for several years, there is no need for daily exercises with a groovy head.
Additional bonuses The advantages of quartz watches are far from limited to the above.
Firstly, extremely miniature and very smart electronics is able to equip such hours with a very wide range of functions.
To accurately show the current time is the base, and all kinds of are added to it: additional time zones, alarm clocks, chronographs (for measuring individual time intervals), calendars, astronomical functions (phases of the moon, dawn/sunset, zodiac signs, etc.
) , sports functions (Shagomer, pulsometer, calorie meter, etc.
), GPS module .
.
.
which is not invented! Secondly, many models of quartz watches have not a purely arrow indication, but a purely digital one (in this case we are no longer a dial, but a LED display) or mixed (it is called “Ana-Diji”, from the words analog and digital).
Do not count people who like it! Further, once again about autonomy.
The battery is a “tablet”, this, of course, is good, but even better a solar battery: in general, there is no need to take care of the “fuel” reserve for your “motor”.
Just do not put the watch in the “prison”, that’s all.
And finally, once again about accuracy.
The advanced models of modern quartz watches are often equipped, simply put, a radio receiver, configured to the frequencies of the signals of the network of special radio racks, and the module for adjusting the readings for these signals.
Radio racks work on atomic hours, almost absolutely accurate, respectively, quartz clocks on the wrist are also the same.
Cornavin Co.
bd.
06.
l 58 950 p And against? Everything said above is “for” the quartz clock.
But is there anything “against”? It turns out yes, there is.
We will not talk for a long time about such purely technical details as the gradual aging of the quartz crystal and the frequency departure from a given (this is a fairly long process) and about some influence of air temperature on the same frequency (the so -called thermal compensated quartz has long been invented and mastered) .
No, let’s say about another, purely subjective.
And here we will have to give a little story.
The first quartz watches built in the Bell laboratories in 1932 were stationary, huge (occupied a whole room) and reference accurate – 0.
02 seconds.
per day.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the lights were already seen by the wristwatch in which electronics was used: the famous Bulova Accutron model was used shortly before the invented transistors (this made it possible to radically reduce the number of details of the mechanism); The frequency of oscillations was set by mechanical tuning fork (360 hertz).
It remained only to replace it with a crystal of quartz, and learned to synthesize these crystals just in the same years.
However, it is easy to say, but in reality, the path to the first wrist of quartz clock took a whole decade.
They were the first to be released on sale in December 1969 by the SEIKO 35SQ Quartz Astron watches.
Soon, new models, both Japanese and Swiss.
In May 1970, the American (now Swiss) company Hamilton introduced the world the world’s first quartz clock with digital display.
All of the above advantages of the quartz watches plus the excellent suitability for mass production – and, therefore, low prices – it seemed that the death of traditional watch mechanics seemed.
But here the very “against” entered into force.
Specialists, experts, lovers of micromechanics considered quartz devoid of soul! After all, the clock mechanism, with its dozens, or even hundreds of details, skillfully connected to a single “orchestra” and, moreover, filigreely processed (often manually), and indeed a work of art! Be that as it may, the mechanic survived.
The period called the “quartz crisis” lasted about 10 years, after which both hourly directions coexist quite peacefully.
You are indifferent to hourly art, only utilitarian virtues are required – well, wear quartz.
Otherwise, give preference to mechanics that is prestigious (and, of course, more expensive).
And a few more words about art The ideas about the soullessness of the quartz watches seem to us somewhat schematic.
Many and many magnificent (and extremely expensive) jewelry watches work on quartz.
And designers also have where to apply imagination.
However, this is rather not a clock, but an accessory, decoration.
And an example of genuine spirituality manifested in the field of quartz clocks can rightfully be called the story of the creation of the world’s first “indestructible” watches of Casio G-Shock.
The main role here belongs to the engineer of Kikuo Iba, who, with a tiny group of employees and with the blessing of the then head of the company Katsuo Kasio, found (not without drama) a fantastically beautiful solution to the problem of anti -jurisdiction, hanging the electronic (quartz) module inside the clock on elastic elements (derivores) .
It was in 1983, and now the Casio G-Shock quartz watch family has hundreds or even thousands of different models, for every taste.
Well, about the main and not the most important, but also interesting, in relation to the mechanical watches, about their “pros” and “against” we also plan to tell.
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