quartz-clock
A quartz clock exploits the piezoelectric effect of a quartz (silicon dioxide, SiO2) crystal, which vibrates at a consistent frequency when an electric voltage is applied. A standard quartz oscillator vibrates at 32,768 Hz (2 to the 15th power), and an electronic circuit divides that frequency 15 times to produce a 1 Hz pulse, one tick per second. Typical accuracy is around plus or minus 15 to 30 seconds per month.
The first quartz clock was developed at Bell Laboratories in 1927. In 1969 Seiko released the Astron, the world's first quartz wristwatch, triggering a revolution in the watch industry known as the Quartz Crisis. While mechanical watches required expert craftsmanship and expensive components, quartz watches delivered superior accuracy from inexpensive electronic parts, and they spread rapidly from the 1970s onward.
Quartz clock accuracy is temperature-dependent. The resonant frequency of the crystal shifts slightly with temperature changes, and a typical wristwatch oscillator is most stable around 25 degrees Celsius. High-accuracy quartz models (within plus or minus 10 seconds per year) incorporate temperature-compensation circuits. Additionally, aging causes the crystal's frequency to drift gradually over time, so resetting the time during battery replacement every few years is recommended.
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atomic clock
An atomic clock measures time by using the quantum-mechanical transition frequency of atoms as its reference, achieving accuracies on the order of one second in hundreds of millions of years and forming the backbone of modern timekeeping.
radio-controlled-clock
A radio-controlled clock receives longwave time signals broadcast by a national standards authority and automatically corrects its internal quartz timekeeping, maintaining accuracy equivalent to the reference signal when reception succeeds.
nict
NICT is Japan's national research institute responsible for generating, maintaining, and distributing Japan Standard Time (JST), operating a fleet of atomic clocks and transmitting the JJY time signal.
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