From ancient times, man tried to take time, measure, and somehow, if not control, then at least streamline it. For this purpose, calendars, various time systems , solar, water and sand, as well as modern electronic, mechanical and quartz watches were invented. Thanks to them, a person can determine himself and his life in the infinite time space of the vast Universe. Chronograph - what is it? This is also a device that allows you to measure time. What is its difference from ordinary watches? How did it appear and how to use it? We’ll talk about this today.
History of invention
If we take the entire history of watchmaking as a segment, the invention of the chronograph will be at its very end. The first device similar to it, allowing to detect time intervals, was invented in 1821. It was associated with the growing popularity of horse racing. The thing is that in those days the winner of the race was determined only "by eye".
The creator of the mechanism, which became the "father" of the modern chronograph, was a fan of equestrian sports Nicholas-Matthias Ryussak. At the races, a new device similar to our chronograph was presented and first tested. What was that then? A clock-like mechanism with a small ink bottle at the end of the second hand. When the arrow stopped, a small dot remained on the dial.
The inventors did not stop there, and soon wrist chronographs saw the light of day. They were created by an Englishman, watchmaker, master Georg Graham - these were ordinary wrist watches, with which it was possible to measure time periods with an accuracy of 1/16 sec. Also in the 18th century, devices similar to modern stopwatch first appeared.
What is it?
So, chronograph - what is it? This is a watch with a time recording function. To be more precise, the chronograph is a special additional mechanism built into the watch. This is its difference from the stopwatch, which is a separate device without a dial and has only a second hand.
The chronograph is a wheel mechanism controlled by levers. It can be a separate module in a watch or built into the main mechanism (both quartz and mechanical).
Types of Chronographs
Also, these devices can be simple or summarizing. With the first option, everything is clear - they started, stopped, reset the result. But the summing chronograph - what is it? It is controlled by two buttons (and not one, as simple) and the most common.
How to use a summing type chronograph? Everything is very simple: the first button is responsible for starting and stopping the mechanism. You can stop the mechanism countless times. At the last stop of the mechanism, the chronograph will count the sum of all time periods. The second button is needed to reset to zero.
There are also one- and two-hand, split-chronographs. The latter has two second hands and an additional third button. This allows you to immediately detect two time intervals and stop one of the arrows, regardless of the movement of the other. The split chronograph is the latest invention.