This week, In TekScope@groups.io , I found a interesting post from user magnustoelle regarding a book about electronic components.
Here is a link to a chapter of the book with amazing parts pictures: https://nostarch.com/download/OpenCircuits_Chapter1.pdf
And a link to the book page in the eshop: https://nostarch.com/open-circuits
Please note that I have no affiliation with the author or the online library.
Here is a link to a chapter of the book with amazing parts pictures: https://nostarch.com/download/OpenCircuits_Chapter1.pdf
And a link to the book page in the eshop: https://nostarch.com/open-circuits
Please note that I have no affiliation with the author or the online library.
Nice cross-section pictures. I think it is not quartz but sapphire crystal is used in wristwatches.
My other remark is regarding glass capacitors. I never heard of it, maybe mica was in the author's mind.
My other remark is regarding glass capacitors. I never heard of it, maybe mica was in the author's mind.
I think that’s quartz. The sapphire crystals used for watches usually refers to the cover glass. Sapphire being extremely hard is very durable. I have a watch with a sapphire crystal cover glass.
In France, Sovcor also made glass capacitors (according to the CCTU 02.15 standard) to be able to replace mica, in case sourcing became a problem.
Most properties were designed to mimic mica
Most properties were designed to mimic mica
mechanical watches were advertised with the number of saffires, being used as bearings for the moving parts
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Artificial jewels were made for watch pivot bearings, and some watches did have "x rubis" on the dial, possibly denoting the number of jewels in the movement, 17 and 21 were common, and those I have seen were mostly red.
The Swiss watch industry was in the Geneva area, mostly French speaking, and those French terms persist in the watch industry, though hardly any factories survive there.
Snobbery, like wine terminology, could be a reason too.
The Swiss watch industry was in the Geneva area, mostly French speaking, and those French terms persist in the watch industry, though hardly any factories survive there.
Snobbery, like wine terminology, could be a reason too.
The liquid filled fuse is a new one on me. Makes sense though. Probably not cheap. I think Corning Glass made glass capacitors, of which I have a few. Nothing special really, in terms of electrical properties.
Something I've always wondered about- those 10-turn pots have the winding done around a copper wire. Does that kill the inductance and make them work better at higher frequencies than they otherwise would?
Something I've always wondered about- those 10-turn pots have the winding done around a copper wire. Does that kill the inductance and make them work better at higher frequencies than they otherwise would?
Apparently been around over a century, but gone out of favor.
"After a particularly bad fire in 1909 ... ... ...they came up with the Liquid Power Fuse, a spring-loaded fuse inside a glass tube filled with a fire-suppressing liquid, carbon tetrachloride. ...the arc,.. was “quenched” inside the tube."
https://www.sandc.com/en/company/celebrating-a-century-of-innovation/
"The liquid filled fuse was once widely used but troubles were experienced due to breakage of the glass and leakage of liquid. Furthermore, its application was somewhat restricted by its limited breaking capacity as system fault levels increased."
https://electrical-engineering-portal.com/fuses-protecting-rural-distribution-systems
$960 https://www.amazon.com/Electric-303554-Liquid-Power-34-5kVA/dp/B06XD1Q49N
https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2012/liquidfuse/
There is also an audiophile "liquid fuse" which may be snake-oil technology. (Who squeezes all them snakes?)
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I have got an early 1960s Swiss made elapsed time indicator. It has purple jewels.
My first guess would be that they are amethyst.
Attachments
Water fuses were a common means of overcoming limitations of solid types: they consisted of a standard fuse wire immersed in distilled water.
The gauge of the fuse wire was much thinner than for a "dry" fuse, because the dissipation capability was greatly increased, leading to a higher fusing value.
Basically, the wire held on for very high currents, but at some point, ebullition of the water occurred, rather brutally, and this caused the formation of an insulating layer around the wire, raising its temperature almost instantly, causing its vaporization.
The distilled water left behind was almost insulating and caused little leak current.
Water also quenched moderate energy arcs; at really high energy levels, I am not less sure: there might be threshold effects making things worse
For a DIYer experimenting with HV tube supplies, they are probably an interesting possibility.
They are cheap, effective, the only downside is the work required to reset them, but if don't blow them as a matter of fact, they are attractive
The gauge of the fuse wire was much thinner than for a "dry" fuse, because the dissipation capability was greatly increased, leading to a higher fusing value.
Basically, the wire held on for very high currents, but at some point, ebullition of the water occurred, rather brutally, and this caused the formation of an insulating layer around the wire, raising its temperature almost instantly, causing its vaporization.
The distilled water left behind was almost insulating and caused little leak current.
Water also quenched moderate energy arcs; at really high energy levels, I am not less sure: there might be threshold effects making things worse
For a DIYer experimenting with HV tube supplies, they are probably an interesting possibility.
They are cheap, effective, the only downside is the work required to reset them, but if don't blow them as a matter of fact, they are attractive
You are right. The timekeeping element is indeed quartz, cut in a tuning fork shape. Synthetic ruby is used as bearings, and sapphire is the "glass". I believed quartz is for MHz frequency range, but apparently it can be forced to oscillate at as low as 32kHz.
2 raised to the power 15 is 32,768, very common frequency in most quartz clocks and watches.
4.19 Mhz is also encountered in that line.
Here we could ask for custom crystals for HF TX/RX sets, in the 6-12 Mhz band, for permitted channels for private use.
4.19 Mhz is also encountered in that line.
Here we could ask for custom crystals for HF TX/RX sets, in the 6-12 Mhz band, for permitted channels for private use.
Now, the story of the book.... A YouTube video which introduce book authors and how they achieved to produce so amazing electronic parts pictures. Impressive !