balance spring

American  

noun

Horology.

1. hairspring.

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Etymology

Origin of balance spring

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

balance spring

In 1675 Huygens devised another fundamental improvement, the spiral balance spring.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 31, 2011

The spiral balance spring revolutionized the accuracy of watches, enabling them to keep time to within a minute a day.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 31, 2011

He invented the spiral balance spring still used in some watches today; made fundamental contributions to mechanics—e.g., the calculation of centrifugal force—and, from a study of the game of dice, to the theory of probability.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Through this work, Hooke came up with the idea of a new kind of pocket watch regulated by a balance spring.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

To do so we remove our balance spring and place the balance in position.

From Watch and Clock Escapements A Complete Study in Theory and Practice of the Lever, Cylinder and Chronometer Escapements, Together with a Brief Account of the Origin and Evolution of the Escapement in Horology by Anonymous