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A balance wheel, or balance, is the timekeeping device used in mechanical watches and small clocks, analogous to the pendulum in a pendulum clock.It is a weighted wheel that rotates back and forth, being returned toward its center position by a spiral torsion spring, known as the balance spring or hairspring.
In physics, Hooke's law is an empirical law which states that the force (F) needed to extend or compress a spring by some distance (x) scales linearly with respect to that distance—that is, F s = kx, where k is a constant factor characteristic of the spring (i.e., its stiffness), and x is small compared to the total possible deformation of the spring.
The balance spring is a fine spiral or helical torsion spring used in mechanical watches, alarm clocks, kitchen timers, marine chronometers, and other timekeeping mechanisms to control the rate of oscillation of the balance wheel. The balance spring is an essential adjunct to the balance wheel, causing it to oscillate back and forth.
The escapement is driven by force from a coiled spring or a suspended weight, transmitted through the timepiece's gear train. Each swing of the pendulum or balance wheel releases a tooth of the escapement's escape wheel, allowing the clock's gear train to advance or "escape" by a fixed amount. This regular periodic advancement moves the clock's ...
The balance spring or hairspring in mechanical watches is a fine, spiral-shaped torsion spring that pushes the balance wheel back toward its center position as it rotates back and forth. The balance wheel and spring function similarly to the torsion pendulum above in keeping time for the watch.
The balance wheel is returned towards its static center position by an attached balance spring (not shown in the diagram). In modern design it is common for the pallet mountings and the fork to be made as a single component. The lever is mounted on a shaft and is free to rotate between two fixed banking pins.
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The Gyromax is a 'free sprung' balance, meaning there is no regulator on the wheel's balance spring for adjusting the watch's rate, so the collets are used for adjusting both poise and rate. Swiss patents were granted to Patek Phillipe for the Gyromax balance on May 15, 1949 and December 31, 1951, and the balance was first used in watches in 1952.