|
A quartz clock is a timepiece that uses an electronic oscillator which is made up by a quartz crystal to keep precise time. This so-called crystal oscillator creates a signal with very precise frequency. Usually some form of digital logic counts the cycles of this signal and provides a numeric time display, usually in units of hours, minutes, and seconds, that a human can read. Quartz is the most abundant mineral in the Earths continental crust. ...
Jump to: navigation, search A wall clock A clock (from the Latin cloca, bell) is an instrument for measuring time. ...
Jump to: navigation, search An electronic oscillator is an electronic circuit that produces a repetitive electronic signal, often a sine wave or a square wave. ...
Quartz crystal A crystal is a solid in which the constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are packed in a regularly ordered, repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. ...
Jump to: navigation, search A crystal oscillator is an electronic circuit that uses the mechanical resonance of a physical crystal of piezoelectric material along with an amplifier and feedback to create an electrical signal with a very precise frequency. ...
Jump to: navigation, search 8:17 am, August 6, 1945, Japanese time. ...
Chemically, quartz is a compound called silicon dioxide. When a crystal of quartz is properly cut and mounted, it can be made to bend in an electric field. When the field is removed, the quartz will generate an electric field as it returns to its previous shape. This property is known as piezoelectricity. Jump to: navigation, search The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is the oxide of silicon, chemical formula SiO2. ...
Jump to: navigation, search Piezoelectricity is the ability of certain crystals to generate a voltage in response to applied mechanical stress. ...
Many materials can be formed into plates that will resonate. However, since quartz can be directly driven by an electric signal, no additional speaker or microphone is required.
Quartz has the further advantage that it does not change size much as temperature changes. Fused quartz is often used for laboratory equipment that must not change shape as the temperature changes. This means that a quartz plate's size will not change much with temperature. Therefore, the resonant frequency of the plate, which depends on the plate's size, will not change much, either. This means that a quartz clock will be relatively accurate as the temperature changes.
In modern quartz clocks, the resonator is tuning fork shaped, laser-trimmed or precision lapped to vibrate at 32,768 Hz. In most clocks, the resonator is in a small can or flat package, about 4 mm long. Standard quality resonators of this type are warranted to have a long-term accuracy of about 6 parts per million at 31 °C, that is, a typical quartz wristwatch will gain or lose less than a half second per day at body temperature. A tuning fork is a simple metal two-pronged fork with the tines formed from a U-shaped bar of elastic material (usually steel). ...
Jump to: navigation, search The range of sizes in which lasers exist is immense, extending from microscopic diode lasers (top) to football field sized neodymium glass lasers (bottom) used for inertial confinement fusion. ...
The hertz (symbol Hz) is the SI unit of frequency. ...
One interesting practical issue for the mass-production of quartz oscillators was how to adjust their frequency without requiring a human operator to fine-tune them. Several automated methods were developed; in the most common one, the tuning fork as made has a small amount of metal on its ends, and runs slightly slower than rated frequency. An automatic machine then measures its frequency while using a laser to vaporize the metal on its ends, slowly raising its frequency, until it reaches the specified frequency; then it is sealed into a small can and is ready for use.
The relative stability of the resonator and its driving circuit is much better than its absolute accuracy. If a quartz wristwatch is "rated" by measuring it against an atomic clock's time broadcast, and worn on one's body to keep its temperature constant, the corrected time can easily be as accurate as 2 seconds per month, more than good enough to perform celestial navigation. Atomic clock Chip-Scale Atomic Clock Unveiled by NIST An atomic clock is a type of clock that uses an atomic resonance frequency standard as its counter. ...
There are several traditions of navigation. ...
The rest of the clock is usually a small, special-purpose computer with a program that counts the cycles, and translates them into an electrical form to drive the visible display. The use of computers in electronic timepieces has enabled a wealth of features, such as stop watches, perpetual calendars, multiple perpetual alarms that play tunes, and other features that would be impractical with simple electronic counters. Jump to: navigation, search A computer is a device or machine for processing information from data according to a program — a compiled list of instructions. ...
Some premium clock designs self-rate. That is, rather than just counting vibrations, their computer program takes the simple count, and scales it using a ratio calculated between an epoch set at the factory, and the most recent time the clock was set. These clocks usually have special instructions for changing the battery (the counter must not be permitted to stop), and become more accurate as they grow older.
It is possible for a computerized clock to measure its temperature, and adjust for that as well. Both analog and digital temperature compensation have been used in high-end quartz watches.
Quartz chronometers designed as time standards often include a crystal oven, to keep the crystal at a constant temperature. Some self-rate and include "crystal farms," so that the clock can take the centroid of a set of time measurements.
The inherent accuracy and low cost of production has resulted in the proliferation of quartz clocks and watches since the 1970s. Quartz timepiece production has emerged from Asia, notably Hong Kong and Japan. Many traditional European clockmakers have continued to produce the less accurate but popular geared timepieces.
See also
Jump to: navigation, search A crystal oscillator is an electronic circuit that uses the mechanical resonance of a physical crystal of piezoelectric material along with an amplifier and feedback to create an electrical signal with a very precise frequency. ...
A tuning fork is a simple metal two-pronged fork with the tines formed from a U-shaped bar of elastic material (usually steel). ...
External link - TimeZone.com article on the development of quartz watches
|
Feeds |
Contact