nmanousos
14
A couple things to note
"Since it is very difficult to synthesize perfect crystals of silicon spring, some nano-sized cracks or surface imperfections can remain"
Silicon can very easily be made with very high purity, beyond 99%. All of the semiconductors in your computer and phone are made with this ultra high purity silicon. It is ubiquitous and cheap.
Silicon is not malleable at all. It's similar to glass, it either snaps or doesn't. There's no in between distorted / bent / failure case. As long as the spring isn't being subjected to extreme shocks repeatedly the lubricant and metal parts in the movement would start to degrade and fail first.
Source: I have done some silicon reactive ion etching work at a nanofab facility.
What is the current status of mean failure time of silicon balance springs ?
Dear Watch Enthusiasts: First, by best wishes to you all for the 2014 and beyond. I have occasionally been following the increased uses of silicon as a balance spring (hair spring). The stated purpose for such use is to eliminate the magnetization problem...
That's a great question ...
I consider horology as a class of "slow science", since it must deal with items that we expect should last for a time span that is greater than our existence. New materials, like the silicon balance spring IMHO will be validated after we ... depart. Same ...
Excellent question...
Excellent question. I have heard that the silicon springs are more stable than steel. They return to form in cases where steel are deformed. There is certainly a limit at which they break and as you say the purity of the crystals will play a big part in t...
Some thoughts
Personally, I am less concerned about fracture mechanic induced failures from fatigue than I am from watchmaker induced component damage. At 4 Hz and beyond, > million cycles is achieved in days (a 4hz watch sees 245 million beats per year). Fatigue ba...
Very good point...
So another question to ask will be how does a silicone mainspring will respond to technicians nicks and bruises compared to metallic ones. My initial concerns were based on the manufacturing process, which is imperfect. However, your point is extremely im...
I'm a bit confused as to why liquidmetal
hasn't been used or at least considered. It's much more resistant and in theory should not be prone to the cracking you described.
A couple things to note
"Since it is very difficult to synthesize perfect crystals of silicon spring, some nano-sized cracks or surface imperfections can remain" Silicon can very easily be made with very high purity, beyond 99%. All of the semiconductors in your computer and pho...
Well, I dont think 99% is good enough for wacthes running +20K bpm.
Thank you for the reply. I appreciate the time you took to respond. As another, but occasional, nanolab user, I respectfully disagree with your assessment. Being able to synthesize 99% purity Si (or even 100% Si) does not guarantee a crystal defect free h...