Clockwork
89734
222827371
2008-07-01T08:54:56Z
99.249.180.71
{{otheruses}}
[[Image:Clock gear.svg|thumb|Gear with escapement mechanism]]
A '''clockwork''' is the inner workings of either a mechanical [[clock]] or a device that operates in a similar fashion. Specifically, the term refers to a device powered by the energy of a wound [[spring (device)|spring]] released through a series of [[gear]]s.<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clockwork clockwork - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/clockwork clockwork - Definitions from Dictionary.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
== Overview ==
Often power for the device is stored within it via a winding device that applies mechanical stress to an energy-storage mechanism such as a [[spring (device)|spring]], thus involving some form of [[escapement]]; in other cases, hand power may be utilized. The use of wheels, whether linked by [[friction]] or [[gear]] teeth, to redirect motion or gain speed or [[torque]], is typical; many clockworks have been constructed primarily to serve as visible or implicit ''tours de force'' of mechanical ingenuity in this area. Sometimes clocks and timing mechanisms are used to set off explosives, timers, alarms and many other devices.
== Examples ==
The most common examples are mechanical [[clock]]s - hence the name. Others include:
* [[Toy]]s - often as a simple mechanical motor, or to create [[automaton|automata]].
* Mechanisms to turn the lens of [[lighthouse]]s before electric motors.
* [[Babbage]]'s [[difference engine|difference]] and [[analytical engine]]s, and simpler mechanical calculators.
* Astronomical models, such as [[orrery|orreries]] whose history spans hundreds of years.
* [[Music box]]es, which were very popular during the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th.
* Almost all [[phonograph]]s built before the 1930s.
* Low-powered electrical equipment, such as a [[clockwork radio]], where an energy-storing spring accounting for much of the size and weight of the device spins a much smaller electric [[Electrical generator|generator]]; such equipment is very popular in certain [[Third World]] situations where [[Battery (electricity)|batteries]] and mains power (house current) may be scarce.
* The [[Antikythera mechanism]], an ancient clockwork calculator
==References==
{{reflist}}
==See also==
{{commonscat}}
*[[Friedrich von Knauss]]
*[[Clockwork universe]]
*[[Movement (clockwork)]]
*[[Wind-up]]
[[Category:Clocks]]
[[Category:Mechanisms]]
[[de:Federwerk]]
[[eo:Risort-funkciigo]]
[[sv:Urverk]]
[[ur:ساعتکار]]