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ChronographWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Chronograph
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Achronographisaspecifictypeofwatchthatisusedasastopwatchcombinedwithadisplaywatch.Abasic
chronographhasanindependentsweepsecondhanditcanbestarted,stopped,andreturnedtozeroby
successivepressureonthestem.Lesssimplechronographsuseadditionalcomplicationsandcanhavemultiple
independenthandstomeasureseconds,minutes,hoursandevententhsofasecond.Inaddition,manymodern
chronographsusemoveablebezelsastachymetersforrapidcalculationsofspeedordistance.LouisMoinet
inventedthechronographin1816foruseintrackingastronomicalobjects.[1][2]Chronographswerealsoused
heavilyinartilleryfireinthemidtolate1800s.Moremodernusesofchronographsinvolvepilotingairplanes,
carracing,divingandsubmarinemaneuvering.

Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

History
Uses
Function
Types
Seealso
References
Externallinks

History

ElectaPocketChronograph(ca.
1890s)manufacturedbytheGallet
WatchCompanyinLaChauxde
Fonds,Switzerland.

Theterm,ChronographcomesfromtheGreekwordfortime,"chronos",combinedwiththeGreekwordforwriting,"graph".Earlyversionsofthe
chronographaretheonlyonesthatactuallyusedany"writing":markingthedialwithasmallpenattachedtotheindexsothatthelengthofthepenmark
wouldindicatehowmuchtimehaselapsed.[3][4][5][6]ThefirstmodernchronographwasinventedbyLouisMoinetin1816,[7]solelyforworkingwith
astronomicalequipment.ItwasNicolasMathieuRieussecwhodevelopedthefirstmarketedchronographatthebehestofKingLouisXVIIIin1821.

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TheKinggreatlyenjoyedwatchinghorseraces,butwantedtoknowexactlyhowlongeachracelasted,so
Rieussecwascommissionedtoinventacontraptionthatwoulddothejob:asaresulthedevelopedthefirstever
commercializedchronograph.RieussecwasconsideredtheinventorofthechronographuntiltheLouisMoinet
pocketchronographdiscoveryin2013whenhistorywasrewritten.[8]
In1844AdolpheNicole'supdatedversionofthechronographwasthefirsttoincludearesettingfeaturewhich
nowallowedsuccessivemeasurements,unliketheconstantlymovingneedleintheoriginalchronograph.[5][9]
Intheearlypartofthe20thCenturymanychronographsweresoldwithfixedbezelsmarkedinordertofunction
asatachymeter.In1958thewatchcompanyHeuerintroducedamodelwitharotatingbezeltachymeterformore
complexcalculations.[10][11]
Chronographswereverypopularwithaviatorsastheyallowedthemtomakerapidcalculationsandconduct
precisetiming.Thedemandforchronographsgrewalongwiththeaviationindustryintheearlypartofthe20th
century.AstheUSexplorationofouterspaceinitiallyinvolvedonlytestpilots,byorderofPresident
Eisenhower,[12][13]chronographswereonthewristsofmanyearlyastronauts.Chronographusagefolloweda
similartrajectoryformanyfieldsthatinvolveverypreciseand/orrepeatedtimingaroundincreasinglymore
complicatedhighperformancemachinery,automobileracingandnavalsubmarinenavigationbeingtwo
examples.Asdifferentusesforthechronographwerediscovered,theindustryrespondedwithdifferentmodels
introducingsuchfeaturesasthe'flyback'(wherethesecondhandcouldberapidlyresettozero),minuteandhour
timers,Rattrapante(ormultiplesecondhandsoneofwhichcanbestoppedandstartedindependently)and
waterproofmodelsfordiversandswimmers.

GalletMultiChronAstronomic(ca.
1959)complexmechanical
chronographwith12hourrecoding
capabilities,automaticday,date,
month,andmoonphasedisplay

Althoughselfwindingwatchesandclockworkhavebeenaroundsincethelate1700s,theautomatic(selfwinding)chronographwasnotinventeduntil
1969whenthewatchcompaniesHeuer,Breitling,andHamilton,andmovementspecialistDuboisDepraz,developeditinpartnership.Theydeveloped
thistechnologysecretlyinanefforttopreventothercompaniesfrombeatingthemtothepatent.ItwasinGenevaandinNewYorkthatthispartnership
sharedthefirstautomaticchronographwiththeworldonMarch3,1969.Thesefirstautomaticchronographswerelabeled"Chronomatic".[14][15]
Manycompaniesselltheirownstylesofchronographs.Whiletodaymostchronographsareintheformofwristwatches,intheearly20thcentury
pocketchronographswereverypopular.[16]

Uses
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Thetermchronographisoftenconfusedwiththetermchronometer.Where"Chronograph"referstothefunction
ofawatch,chronometerisameasureofhowwellagiventimepieceperforms:inordertobelabeleda
chronometerthetimepiecemustbecertifiedbytheCOSC,theofficialSwissChronometertestinginstitute,[16]
afterundergoingaseriesofrigoroustestsforrobustness,accuracyandprecisionunderadverseconditions.A
simplewatch,withoutthestopwatchfunctionality,canbecertifiedachronometer,ascanaclock,forexamplea
ship'sclockusedfornavigation.
Originallythetermchronographwasmainlyusedinconnectionwithartilleryandthevelocityofmissiles.The
Chronographsmainfunctionistoallowacomparisonofobservationbetweenatimebaseand,beforethe
electronicstopwatchwasinvented,apermanentrecordingoftheobserversfindings.Forexample,oneofthe
firstapplicationsofthechronographwastorecordthetimeelapsedduringhorseraces.[9]

AmodernSeikoquartzwristwatch
usingthechronographfunction
(movement7T92).

SomemoreimportantusesofthechronographincludetheLangleyChronograph,whichisusedbytheUSNavy
torecord,calculate,andanalysedatagivenoffbyaeroplanelaunchingcatapults.Anotherfamoususageofthe
chronographwasduringallofNASAsApollomissionstothemoon,eachastronautwasequippedwithafullyfunctioningchronograph,theOmega
Speedmaster.Youcannowfindchronographsthatareusedtorecordheartbeatswithinhospitals,calculatespeedand/ordistanceonanathleticfield,or
evenassimpleasacookingtoolforthekitchen.[4][17][18][19]

Function
Chronographscanbeextremelycomplicateddevices,buttheyallhavethebasicfunctionoftellingtime,astheyarewatches,andofdisplayingelapsed
time.Rieussecschronographwasfairlysimple.Itwascomposedoftwofaces,atopandbottomface.Thebottomfaceheldapoolofink,whilethe
upperhadapenlikeneedleattachedtoit.Whenactivated,theupperfacepusheddownonthelowerface,whilerevolvingaroundacentralaxis,which
pulledtheneedle.Thisdraggedtheink,inacircularfashion,recordingthetimeelapsedbythelineofinkthatthemotioncreated.Therewasroomleft
forimprovement,becauseRieussecschronographwasnoteasilyreadyformultipleuses.[3][5]
Thispavedthewayforthehundredsofpatentsthathavebeenhandedouttopeopleforupdatingandupgradingthisdevice.Automatic,nondigital
chronographsdonotrequireabattery,becausethearmorwristofthewearercreateskineticenergy,whichresultsinthetotalenergysourceneededfor
thisdevicetowork.Throughouttheday,whilethewearerofthewatchiswalking,theswingingmotionofhisarmforcesasemicircularrotortoturnon
apivotwithinthewatch.Therotorisattachedtoaratchetthatwindsthemainspringinthewatch,sothatitisreadyforuseatalltimes.[3][20]
Themoderndaychronographworksbypushingastartbutton,normallylocatedatthetwoo'clockposition,tobeginrecordingtime,andbypushingthe
samebuttontostoptherecording.Whenthebuttonispushedtostarttherecording,aseriesofthree(inmorecomplicatedandmoreprecise
chronographstherearemorewheels)trainwheelsstartturning.Thesmallesthasarevolutiontimeofonesecond,thenextsixtyseconds,andthefinal
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onehasarevolutiontimeofsixtyminutes.Thethreetrainwheelsinteractwithoneanotherandrecordhowlong
ithasbeensincethestartbuttonhasbeenactivated.[20]
Tachymeterbezelsareacomplicationthatallowsrapidcalculationsofspeedordistance.Rotatingbezelsallow
formorecomplexcalculationsorrepeatedcalculationswithoutrequiringaresetofthetimer.[10][11]

Types
TheoriginalchronographsthatRieussecinventedwerecalledtapechronographs.Theyconsistedofatapethat
wasconstantlybeingdraggedalongatacontrolledspeed.Whenactivated,apenwouldbepushedontothetape
andbeginrecordinguntildeactivated.[9]
Specializedchronographsareusedbydeepseaandscubadivers.Whilebasicfunctionalityisthesameasother
chronographs,divingmodelshavelongerandmorepracticalstrapstowearoverequipment,aremadetobe
waterprooftodeeperdepths,havemoreroundedcornerstopreventcatchingandluminousdialsforreadinginthe
murkydepths.Alsodiverschronographsarefittedwithlargebezelsthathaveatleastoneluminousmarking:at
thestartofadivethebezelisrotatedtoplacethemarkingattheextentoftimeallowedbytheairsupplygiving
theabilitytoveryquicklydeterminehowmuchtimeremainsforsafediving.Surfacesupplieddiverscanusethe
sametomakequickcalculationsofdistancetraveledovertime.

CitizenAtessaEcoDriveATV53
3023analogdigitalchronographwith
4areaRadioControlledreception
(NorthAmerica,Europe,China,
Japan).

Meteredbezels:Manychronographshaveabezel,thatiseitherfixedorcanrotate,aroundtheoutsideofthedial
thatismarkedtospecificscalestoallowrapidcalculations.Whileanywristwatchcanhaveabezel,the
chronographstopstartfeature,aswellastherotationofthebezel,allowsmorecomplexcalculationsorrepeatedmeasurementsforaseriesof
calculations.ThemostpopularmeterisforTachymeterreadings:asimplescalethatallowsrapidcalculationsofspeed.OtherbezelsfeatureTelemeter
scale,fordistance.ThewatchmakingcompanyBreitlingoffersamodelwitharotatingbezel,inconjunctionwithanother,fixed,meteronthedial,
scaledforuseasaslideruleformorecomplexcalculations.

Flybackchronographshaveatiminghandthatcanberapidlyreset,or'flyback',tozero.Ordinarilythesweepsecondhandisstoppedtorecordthetime
andstartedagainatthatspotonthedial,orresetbyspinningthesecondhandallthewaytozeroagain,clockwise.Theflybackallowsareadinganda
quickreset,acounterclockwise'flyback',forthenextmeasurementtostartatzero.[8]
Rattrapante,sometimescalleda"doublechronograph",havemultiplesecondhands,atleastoneofwhichcanbestoppedandstartedindependently.
Whennotactivatedthesecondhandstraveltogether,oneundertheother,toappearasjustonesecondhand.[8]
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Tourbillon.Althoughnotstrictlylimitedtochronographs,atourbillonisanescapementsetinacageandplaced
inarotatingbalanceinordertominimizetheeffectsofgravityontheescapementandincreaseprecision.
Becausechronographescapementsaregenerallylargerandconnectwithmorecomplicationsatourbillionina
chronographwilldifferfromatourbillioninamoresimpletimepiece.
Othertypesofmoderndaychronographsaretheautomaticchronographandthedigitalchronograph.The
automaticchronographdependssolelyonkineticenergyasitspowersource,whilethedigitalchronographis
muchlikethecommonstopwatchandusesabatterytogainpoweraswellasquartzfortiming.
Other,morespecific,typesofchronographsincludesplitsecondchronographs,tidechronographs,and
asthometerchronographs.Eachofthesechronographshasanaddedfeaturethatsetsthemapart.[23]

Seealso
LouisMoinetInventoroftheChronograph
Doublechronograph
Flybackchronograph
Complication(horology)
Chronometer(disambiguation)
Marinechronometer

A'SeikoAutomaticChronograph'
Cal.6139,thePogueSeiko,thefirst
automaticchronographin
space[21][22]

References
1.Worldtempus,LouisMoinetThechronograph'sinventor(http://www.worldtempus.com/en/news/topnews/detail/article/1363857919louismoinetthefirsteverchr
onograph/inventor)
2.ElizabethDoerr,Forbes,HistoryRebooted:TheChronograph'sInventoris...LouisMoinet!(http://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethdoerr/2013/03/24/historyreboote
dthechronographsinventorislouismoinet/).
3.Hood,Peter.HowTimeIsMeasured.London:OxfordU.P.,1969.Print.
4.Cowan,HarrisonJ.TimeandItsMeasurementfromtheStoneAgetotheNuclearAge.Cleveland:WorldPub.,1958.Print.
5.Chronographs(http://www.spencer.it/eng/products/spot/chronographs)SpencerEmergencySolutions.Accessed25March2012
6.http://www.wired.com/2011/04/skywatchchrono/Wired(magazine)
7.LouisMoinetunveilstheworld'sfirstchronograph,Monochromewatches(http://www.monochrome.nl/louismoinetunveilstheworldsfirstchronographdatingb
ackto1816)
8.Atechnicalperspective,thechronograph,XavierMarkl,Monochromewatches(https://monochromewatches.com/technicalperspectiveeverythingwantknowchro
nographs)
9.De,CarleDonald.WatchandClockEncyclopedia.IpswichEngland:N.A.G.,1983.Print.
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10.http://www.onthedash.com/thoughts/heuersinnovationtherotatingtachymeterbezelforracetiming/
11.http://www.wisegeek.com/whatisatachymeter.htm
12."JamesH.Ragan:NASA'smanbehindtheMoonWatch".PressRelease.OMEGASA.21July2009.Retrieved9April
2011.
13.Linz,AlexanderJamesH.Ragan(June2009)."HowOmegaGottotheMoon".WatchTime:124125."Onceandfor
all:itneverhappenedthatway.Thatstorysacompleteinvention."
14."Chronometer".ColumbiaElectronicEncyclopedia,6thEdition(2011)
15.Stein,JeffreyM.(2008),Project99TheRacetoDeveloptheFirstAutomaticChronograph
16.SowhatisaChronographandwhyisaChronometer?(http://www.chronograph.org.uk/watcheschronograph/)
chronograph.org.ukAccessed25MAR2012.
17.Baugh,FrankG.,andLudyT.BenjaminJr."WalterMiles,PopWarner,B.C.Graves,andthePsychologyof
Football".JournaloftheHistoryoftheBehavioralSciences42.1(2006):318.AcademicSearchPremier.Web.14
Nov.2011.
18.Vroom,G.B.(1923),THELANGLEYCHRONOGRAPH.JournaloftheAmericanSocietyforNavalEngineers,35:
375380.doi:10.1111/j.15593584.1923.tb00184.x(https://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.15593584.1923.tb00184.x)
19.JinHe,Tao."TheGeneralMethodForFixingtheGaugesofRelativisticAstronomicalReferenceSystems".
Astrophysics&SpaceScience302.14(2006):9398.AcademicSearchPremier.
SeikoFlybackAutomatic
20.Mond,RobertL.,andMeyerWilderman."ANewImprovedTypeofChronograph".PhilosophicalMagazineSeries6
ChronographCal.7016,thesocalled
(2003).TaylorandFrancis,16Apr.2009.
SeikoMonaco(1976).
21.WilliamPogue'sSeiko6139WatchFlownonBoardtheSkylab4Mission,fromhisPersonalCollection...TheFirst
AutomaticChronographtobeWorninSpace.(http://historical.ha.com/itm/explorers/spaceexploration/williampogues
seiko6139watchflownonboardtheskylab4missionfromhispersonalcollection/a/600741138.s)
22.TheColonelPogueSeiko6139(http://blog.dreamchrono.com/2013/11/seiko6139pogue/),dreamchrono.com.
23.ChronographFunctions(http://www.chronomaster.co.uk/chronograph_functions1.htm)ChronomasterMechanicalWatches.Accessed25March2012.

Externallinks
Chronographwatches(http://rkeulen.home.xs4all.nl/watch/chronos.html)Keulen,Robert.1996.Accessed25MAR2012
PatekPhilippeChronographComparison(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DgZ63EPQAc)Gray&SonsNOV2014
Atechnicalperspective,thechronograph(https://monochromewatches.com/technicalperspectiveeverythingwantknowchronographs),
Monochromewatches,XavierMarkl,February2016
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chronograph&oldid=722446415"
Categories: Measuringinstruments Watches Timers

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