How does a chronometer work?
“Chronometer” is simply a more or less obsolete name for a clock, traditionally a very accurate ship’s clock or a railroad clock. The term does live on in Switzerland, where the most accurate mechanical watches may be certified as “Officially Certified Chronometers” by the government. There are a great many different mechanisms used in mechanical clocks, but today’s wristwatches all use a variation of the balance wheel escapement. In this system, a small flywheel connected to a light spring rides on hardened pivots made from tiny gemstones, oscillating back and fortth, propelled by a mainspring. As it reverrses direction, a cog attached to the flywheel, or balance wheel, allows a gear (called a “wheel” in clocks) to move a fixed increment, in turn allowing the hands to move a small amount. The balance wheel is adjusted by a system a screws in its perimeter that allow it to be very accurately balanaced, and its mess to be moved inward or outward. IN addition, the tension of the light sp
