Clocks Having Quartz Movements

Clocks Having Quartz Movements

Clocks having quartz movements are timepieces that utilize the piezoelectric properties of quartz crystals to keep time. The use of quartz in clocks was first developed in the 1920s, but it was not until the 1960s that quartz clocks became widely available. Quartz clocks are highly accurate and reliable, and they have largely replaced mechanical clocks in many applications. The heart of a quartz clock is a small piece of quartz crystal that is cut in a specific way so that it vibrates at a very precise frequency when an electrical current is applied to it. The frequency of the crystal is typically around 32,768 Hz, which is a power of 2 that makes it easy to divide down to produce the one-second pulses that are used to drive the clock's timekeeping mechanism. The timekeeping mechanism in a quartz clock typically consists of a small microchip that contains a quartz crystal oscillator, a counter, and a display driver. The oscillator generates a precise frequency that is divided down to produce the one-second pulses that drive the counter. The counter keeps track of the number of pulses and uses this information to drive the display driver, which shows the time on the clock face. Quartz clocks are highly accurate and reliable, and they are used in a wide range of applications, from simple wall clocks to high-precision atomic clocks used in scientific research. They are also used in many electronic devices, such as computers and cell phones, to provide accurate timekeeping.

quartz crystal, frequency, timekeeping mechanism, microchip, accuracy

— Joseph Edwards