yodasminion asked:
I was just looking at Rolex watches, and they have the self-winding mechanisms. How do those work? I know it’s movement that winds the watch, but is there a spring inside, or a bettery that gets charged, or what?
I was just looking at Rolex watches, and they have the self-winding mechanisms. How do those work? I know it’s movement that winds the watch, but is there a spring inside, or a bettery that gets charged, or what?
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There is a weight mounted off-balance on a shaft so that it hangs down. It has a one-way ratchet connected to a reduction gear so that motion in one direction winds the spring. In the other direction the shaft just turns freely.
As you move about, walking, running, gesturing, whatever, your wrist moves back and forth. As your wrist changes position the weight causes the shaft to turn and the ratchet captures the motion to wind the main spring.
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Answerman is correct. I will only add that the weight in the watch is a semicircular one that swings with your movements. As answerman says it drives a ratchet etc. This arrangement does wind a traditional spring.
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i will add that with these watches you need a holder that moves the watch when you aren’t wearing it. I had a Rolex watch like this and didn’t like it because if I didn’t wear it for a couple of days it would stop and I would have to reset it. I didn’t have a holder. I sold it and bought one with a battery… no special holder and no resetting
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There are 3 different types of perpetual motion machines; perpetual motion of the first kind, the second kind, or the third kind – depending on which Law of Thermodynamics you break. So far no one has been able to break the Laws of Thermodynamics, so there are no perpetual machines. Einstein said that of all the Laws in the Universe, the Laws of Thermodynamics will be the last ones to be broken.
As far as the watch is concerned, the movment of the wearer winds or charges the watch, depending if it is mechanical or electric.