WatchTech

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...  

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 ... 

Regards, ian

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... 

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... 

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... 

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.

"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... 

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...