In this activity each student will learn about the design and construction of a mechanical watch.  The student will take apart a watch movement and put it back together, with instruction from Jason Champion (instructor from the AWCI: American Watchmakers and Clockmakers Institute), with help from Jack Kurdzionak and Steve Boynton (professional watchmakers), and Prof. Gerry Sussman (an amateur watchmaker).  The entire exercise will take 4 hours.  Each session will be limited to 8 students.  Students need no prior experience, and all tools and materials will be provided by the instructors, as needed.

Enrollment is limited.  You must sign up for one of the 4-hour sessions:

Saturday, 20 January 2024, 9am-1pm
Saturday, 20 January 2024, 2:30pm-6:30pm
Sunday, 21 January 2024, 9am-1pm
Sunday, 21 January 2024, 2:30pm-6:30pm

Registration is closed.  If you wish to be added to the waitlist for one of the sessions, please email crosenth@mit.edu.

As part of this activity Professor Sussman will give a lecture on the theory of the mechanical watch and its relationship to an electronic impulse-driven oscillator.  There will be a discussion of friction (resistance) and its effect on Q and timing precision.  The lecture will explain why it is essential for the impulse to be supplied to the oscillator at the zero crossings of the angle, and why the oscillator will enter a limit cycle of a known amplitude.

The lecture is open to the MIT community.  It will be at 2:00-3:00 PM, in 32-141 on Friday, 19 January.

Most watches these days are electronic miracles, but we cannot easily get insight into how they work. The traditional mechanical watch is different in that we can see all of the parts and how they interact. A mechanical watch is a highprecision mechanical device with lots of clever ideas and insights that we can learn from.

Professor Sussman will explain the theory and design of the mechanical watch and its relationship to an electronic impulse-driven oscillator. There will be a discussion of friction (resistance) and its effect on Q and timing precision. He will explain why it is essential for the impulse to be supplied to the oscillator at the zero crossings of the angle, and why the oscillator will enter a limit cycle of a known amplitude.

In this lecture Professor Sussman will be assisted by Jack Kurdzionak, AWCI Fellow.

The lecture is scheduled for 2:00 PM, Friday, 19 January 2024, in lecture hall 32-141.

Most watches these days are electronic miracles, but we cannot easily get insight into how they work. The traditional mechanical watch is different in that we can see all of the parts and how they interact. A mechanical watch is a highprecision mechanical device with lots of clever ideas and insights that we can learn from.

Professor Sussman will explain the theory and design of the mechanical watch and its relationship to an electronic impulse-driven oscillator. There will be a discussion of friction (resistance) and its effect on Q and timing precision. He will explain why it is essential for the impulse to be supplied to the oscillator at the zero crossings of the angle, and why the oscillator will enter a limit cycle of a known amplitude.

In this lecture Professor Sussman will be assisted by Jack Kurdzionak, AWCI Fellow.

The lecture is scheduled for 2:00 PM, Friday, 19 January 2024, in lecture hall 32-141.

In this activity each student will learn about the design and construction of a mechanical watch.  The student will take apart a watch movement and put it back together, with instruction from Jason Champion (instructor from the AWCI: American Watchmakers and Clockmakers Institute), with help from Jack Kurdzionak and Steve Boynton (professional watchmakers), and Prof. Gerry Sussman (an amateur watchmaker).  The entire exercise will take 4 hours.  Each session will be limited to 8 students.  Students need no prior experience, and all tools and materials will be provided by the instructors, as needed.

Enrollment is limited.  You must sign up for one of the 4-hour sessions:

Saturday, 20 January 2024, 9am-1pm
Saturday, 20 January 2024, 2:30pm-6:30pm
Sunday, 21 January 2024, 9am-1pm
Sunday, 21 January 2024, 2:30pm-6:30pm

Registration is closed.  If you wish to be added to the waitlist for one of the sessions, please email crosenth@mit.edu.

As part of this activity Professor Sussman will give a lecture on the theory of the mechanical watch and its relationship to an electronic impulse-driven oscillator.  There will be a discussion of friction (resistance) and its effect on Q and timing precision.  The lecture will explain why it is essential for the impulse to be supplied to the oscillator at the zero crossings of the angle, and why the oscillator will enter a limit cycle of a known amplitude.

The lecture is open to the MIT community.  It will be at 2:00-3:00 PM, in 32-141 on Friday, 19 January.