Chapter 05 of 5
Crystals Everywhere
Phones, computers, atomic clocks and the tiny crystal on your wrist.
- In Your Pocket
A Crystal in Your Phone
Phones and computers contain quartz crystals or similar resonators that provide precise timing signals.
- Computers
The Clock Signal
Processors run on a clock signal derived from a crystal, which is multiplied up to billions of ticks per second.
- Switched Off
The 32.768 kHz Again
Many devices still use the same 32,768 Hz crystal as a watch to keep the date and time when they are switched off.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
Since 1967, how has the SI second been defined?
⌚ The Crystal That Counts Your Seconds
- 01Tick-Tock, BadlyHow mechanical watches kept time, and why they never quite could.
- 02The SqueezeThe Curie brothers, a crystal that makes electricity when pressed, and why it works in reverse.
- 03The Crystal ClockFrom a room-sized clock to a tuning fork the size of a grain of rice.
- 04The Quartz CrisisThe watch that cost as much as a car, and the industry it nearly destroyed.
- 05Crystals EverywherePhones, computers, atomic clocks and the tiny crystal on your wrist.