Quartz vs Mechanical Watches: Why Quartz Has Higher Precision
The debate between quartz and mechanical watches is a long-standing one, with each ha
Quartz vs Mechanical Watches: Why Quartz Has Higher Precision
The debate between quartz and mechanical watches is a long-standing one, with each having its own set of enthusiasts. While many leading watch brands still favor mechanical watches, possibly due to the need for quartz watches to have their batteries replaced, there’s a technical reason behind quartz watches’ higher precision.
Quartz watches operate using a quartz oscillator as their timekeeping element, which has a high oscillation frequency of 32,768 Hz. Mechanical watches, on the other hand, use a balance wheel and hairspring that oscillate at a frequency between 2.5 to 5 Hz. The higher the oscillation frequency, the greater the timekeeping accuracy, making quartz watches more precise than their mechanical counterparts.
Why does a higher oscillation frequency result in better accuracy? Through a simple calculation, let’s explore this question. A mechanical watch’s balance wheel and hairspring oscillate at a maximum of 5 Hz, meaning it oscillates 5 times per second. If there’s a single error in these oscillations, the frequency might change to 4 or 6 oscillations per second, resulting in a second’s error of 1/5th of a second.
Calculating further:
– 1 minute’s error = 0.2 seconds × 60 = 12 seconds
– 1 hour’s error = 12 seconds × 60 = 720 seconds = 12 minutes
– 24 hours’ error = 12 minutes × 24 = 288 minutes = 4 hours 48 minutes
Similarly, a tuning fork vibrating at 360 Hz with one error per second would lead to a daily error of 4 minutes. Meanwhile, a quartz oscillator vibrating at 32,768 Hz with one error would only have a daily error of 2.6 seconds.
This simple calculation clearly illustrates why a higher oscillation frequency leads to more accurate timekeeping, explaining why quartz watches outperform mechanical watches in precision. It demystifies the technical superiority of quartz watches in terms of accuracy, making it a preferred choice for those valuing precise timekeeping.
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