That scale can’t be right. Pocket watches are bigger than a quarter.
Mechanical Watch
341–350 of 425 posts
Re: Mechanical Watch
#342Earlier quoted context omitted.
> you may find out that the real problem is that solid-state physics isn't object-oriented I am saving this quote for future use. Thank you :)
Funny, I would argue that the rock on my table is very definitely an object ;)
But even if we're arguing physics, that's debatable. The shape and toughness of the rock are actually an effect of forces between the atoms composing the rock, and the weight of the rock is actually the interaction between the mass of the rock and the earth. The color of the rock is the effect of the interaction between the molecules in the rock and photons (which are themselves wave-like) and then the interaction between that light and the cells in your eyes.
Objects are a convenient day-to-day model in real life and software, but there are more "functional" models that comprise the object model.
Re: Mechanical Watch
#343I was curious how he did those visualizations so I looked at the source code. Turns out he codes everything by hand in WebGL [1]. Absolutely impressive stuff. Source code is non-minified so you can have a look and understand everything as well. [1]: https://ciechanow.ski/js/watch.js
I'm observing that developers these days are quite surprised to see anyone write code for OpenGL / WebGL directly instead of using some layer of abstraction on top, such as Three.js or Unity etc. Few seem to know that OpenGL already is an abstraction of the computing model underneath. A couple years ago I did some consulting for a company that needed a point cloud rendering engine. Luckily I had one ready to go. I sh…
In my waking up state I read that as “some layer of distraction”. How fitting ;) But back to original post , yes his work and website is amazing.
Re: Mechanical Watch
#344I was curious how he did those visualizations so I looked at the source code. Turns out he codes everything by hand in WebGL [1]. Absolutely impressive stuff. Source code is non-minified so you can have a look and understand everything as well. [1]: https://ciechanow.ski/js/watch.js
" Turns out he codes everything by hand in WebGL"
You really have to admire people who do stuff like that (I can't imagine that I would ever have the patience to do that).
What I'm mildly curious about is why would anyone want to do it? Is there a demand for such stuff? I can understand it if the exercise was for training people but wouldn't most people who were interested in the internal workings of watches already be familiar with them?
I'd reckon most would be like me in that they'd pulled enough watches apart in their younger years to already know their ins and outs (I've long lost track of the number watches and clocks I've either fixed or disassembled by the time I was a teenager).
Re: Mechanical Watch
#345Earlier quoted context omitted.
True multimedia is a lost art. We had it back in the 90s when software came on discs and it was a high-density, polished product that combined text, audio, video, and interactive elements on the same page. The internet taking over turned everything back into text, and then as bandwidth grew the only thing we thought to use it on was higher and higher bitrate video. When I was a kid I thought the future was going to b…
>True multimedia is a lost art. We had it back in the 90s when software came on discs and it was a high-density, polished product that combined text, audio, video, and interactive elements on the same page. This reminds me of Microsoft Encarta.
Microsoft sold a bunch of titles for things like music. They did quite a nice job as I recall during that period when it was really rather wondrous you could hold all this information in the palm of your hand.
Re: Mechanical Watch
#346Earlier quoted context omitted.
According to his Twitter, he just uses bare canvas and WebGL. [1] What a legend. You can inspect the page and read the source js, it is unminified. [1] https://twitter.com/BCiechanowski/status/1484013009219375105...
Very impressive. The only thing that would make it better is a physics engine that would allow the user to play with gears etc.
You mean like https://ciechanow.ski/gears/ ?
Re: Mechanical Watch
#347What an awesome explainer! I love mechanical watches. I have a relatively cheap Stowa Antea which runs a simple hand-wound Peseux/ETA 7001. It’s so thin, the entire watch is less than 7mm thick. All of what you see in this explainer is crammed into that tiny space the size of a stamp.
Re: Mechanical Watch
#348Earlier quoted context omitted.
> you may find out that the real problem is that solid-state physics isn't object-oriented I am saving this quote for future use. Thank you :)
Funny, I would argue that the rock on my table is very definitely an object ;)
Examine it more closely; you will find that it is a dynamical system composed of sextillions of parts, constantly entering and leaving the rock, and that the boundaries between the rock, the table, and the air are very fuzzy indeed. It isn't even encapsulated, nor are its interactions with its environment mediated by messages to which it freely chooses a response; it is its environment.
Re: Mechanical Watch
#349Earlier quoted context omitted.
A mechanical watch needs regular service which is usually just cleaning, lubricating, replacing seals and springs. Eventually it will need replacement parts and that is probably the end of life for the watch. There are a some brands that will service every watch they've ever made, fabricating new parts as needed. Few of us can afford one of those.
I have seiko automatic which kept great time when I first bought it, but not long after, it slipped off my wrist and fell on the tile floor. Since then it has been losing time but no so much as to be a huge problem. Would service easily fix this or is it just something to live with?
Should be a simple fix. It might just need regulation on the balance wheel (super quick, no need to disassemble the whole movement), or one of the pinions might be bent (just replace that wheel).
Take it to a watchmaker, a fix like this would be pretty straightforward.
Re: Mechanical Watch
#350Earlier quoted context omitted.
>True multimedia is a lost art. We had it back in the 90s when software came on discs and it was a high-density, polished product that combined text, audio, video, and interactive elements on the same page. This reminds me of Microsoft Encarta.
Microsoft sold a bunch of titles for things like music. They did quite a nice job as I recall during that period when it was really rather wondrous you could hold all this information in the palm of your hand.
Yeah, a 21st-century version of Microsoft Home would be incredible.