Motoring2 mins ago
Why won't my wife's watches work?
Whenever my wife wears a wholly-mechanical watch it stops, now matter how much or how little I paid for it. It then performs perfectly on me or on the shelf.
But quartz watches work fine on her, which seems to indicate that she has some effect on the hair-spring escapement of a mechanical watch. What can this influence be?
Have other people experienced this? If so, have they an explanation? I don't mean a vague one like "Well you see, it's the electricity from her body�" to which I am bound to ask "What electricity? How can it stop a hairspring? Does it magnetise alternate spirals so that they stick together? If so, how? Why doesn't it happen with everyone?" and so on�
Any offers?
But quartz watches work fine on her, which seems to indicate that she has some effect on the hair-spring escapement of a mechanical watch. What can this influence be?
Have other people experienced this? If so, have they an explanation? I don't mean a vague one like "Well you see, it's the electricity from her body�" to which I am bound to ask "What electricity? How can it stop a hairspring? Does it magnetise alternate spirals so that they stick together? If so, how? Why doesn't it happen with everyone?" and so on�
Any offers?
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You'll probably have lot's of different theories chakka35 (welcome back, by the way... missed you)... It does actually happen to some people. It's been reported that a number of people share a common phenomena along with "watch stopping" and that's an abnormal (at least to them) predisposition to static electric shocks... the kind we all experience from time to time, especially in winter. As to the mechanism of it all works... haven't a clue, except that it must have some electromagnetic basis... (Big help, huh?)
Thanks, folks. It was interesting to learn about others who have the same problem and also to realise that the phenomenon doesn't appear to have been researched. Or has it? I can find no sign of such an investigation so far.
If you Google 'stopping watches' or some such (as I did just now) you'll find at least one Q&A site to which a number of people have contributed - none with a solution.
Clanad, thanks for your greeting; I'm still around but not on R&S any more; I just got bored with pretending to take superstition seriously.
Robb Phoenix : both.
taichiperson, I'm afraid that expressions like "a therapist who is energy sensitive" causes all my crackpot-detection alarms to go off loudly. I looked up Reiki and, sure enough, it's the sort of barmy quackery I expected. If I were to suggest it to my wife she'd be even more convinced of my looniness than she is now.
If you Google 'stopping watches' or some such (as I did just now) you'll find at least one Q&A site to which a number of people have contributed - none with a solution.
Clanad, thanks for your greeting; I'm still around but not on R&S any more; I just got bored with pretending to take superstition seriously.
Robb Phoenix : both.
taichiperson, I'm afraid that expressions like "a therapist who is energy sensitive" causes all my crackpot-detection alarms to go off loudly. I looked up Reiki and, sure enough, it's the sort of barmy quackery I expected. If I were to suggest it to my wife she'd be even more convinced of my looniness than she is now.
Robb, this has been going on for years and I'm afraid we didn't keep records. Typically (pre-quartz) she would go off in the morning with a new watch and come home in the evening saying "It's stopped, as usual."
She may have noticed it within half-an-hour or several hours depending on what she was doing. it made no difference: as soon as it came off her wrist it would work.
She may have noticed it within half-an-hour or several hours depending on what she was doing. it made no difference: as soon as it came off her wrist it would work.
I have a theory.
When something is statically charged it will be positive or negative, the skin, becomes positive in charge and if I'm right in thinking there are Nickel parts in watches they would become negative in charge.
These two charges attract each other, like magnets, theoretically stopping movement of something in the watch.
Hope that helped and I hope I'm right. :)
When something is statically charged it will be positive or negative, the skin, becomes positive in charge and if I'm right in thinking there are Nickel parts in watches they would become negative in charge.
These two charges attract each other, like magnets, theoretically stopping movement of something in the watch.
Hope that helped and I hope I'm right. :)
Robb I'll try both of those things.
mcooky, I'm afraid that I'm one of those boringly rational people who analyses these things rather rigorously. So...
Do you know that skin becomes positively charged or are you just guessing? And why doesn't it discharge when you touch a tap or any other earthed object ('faucet' and 'grounded' to you, Clanad)?
Why should nickel, in particular, become negatively charged and, since it is a metal, why doesn't it discharge immediately through all the metal in the watch, which is touching the (allegedly) positively-charged skin?
A quartz watch often has the same metal case and metal gear-train to drive the hands. Only the escapement is different, which, I think, is made of springy steel in a mechanical watch.
Since (as others say) static electricity is usually held responsible, I still find it odd that no-one has explained how and why.
If I open a subscription list to fund me in a research programme on this subject will you each cough up �1000
please? No, make it five grand. Ten, maybe? What do you think?
mcooky, I'm afraid that I'm one of those boringly rational people who analyses these things rather rigorously. So...
Do you know that skin becomes positively charged or are you just guessing? And why doesn't it discharge when you touch a tap or any other earthed object ('faucet' and 'grounded' to you, Clanad)?
Why should nickel, in particular, become negatively charged and, since it is a metal, why doesn't it discharge immediately through all the metal in the watch, which is touching the (allegedly) positively-charged skin?
A quartz watch often has the same metal case and metal gear-train to drive the hands. Only the escapement is different, which, I think, is made of springy steel in a mechanical watch.
Since (as others say) static electricity is usually held responsible, I still find it odd that no-one has explained how and why.
If I open a subscription list to fund me in a research programme on this subject will you each cough up �1000
please? No, make it five grand. Ten, maybe? What do you think?
mcooky is wrong,
The body can not have a charge unless you stand on a non conducting surface. The body form an equipotential surface with the atmosphere.If you touch anything with a charge- you earth it. That is why you get zapped!
If the watch completely stops working I have a theory:
The acid from the skin is probably causing corrosion to the mechanical components in the watches which have very fine tolerances. This could be why the quartz watch is not stopping while mechanical watches stop. Does she also corrode base metals?
The body can not have a charge unless you stand on a non conducting surface. The body form an equipotential surface with the atmosphere.If you touch anything with a charge- you earth it. That is why you get zapped!
If the watch completely stops working I have a theory:
The acid from the skin is probably causing corrosion to the mechanical components in the watches which have very fine tolerances. This could be why the quartz watch is not stopping while mechanical watches stop. Does she also corrode base metals?
We've tried that mibs, it doesn't help either... but we keep trying. lol
My missus has the same problem.
We were advised to get a S/S watch by a jeweler which we did at rather great expense. Have we been duped?
Don't want to go through the whole thread again but is it only women who experience this phenomenon? This alone should be significant enough to be awarded an Answerbank funded research grand chakka.
My missus has the same problem.
We were advised to get a S/S watch by a jeweler which we did at rather great expense. Have we been duped?
Don't want to go through the whole thread again but is it only women who experience this phenomenon? This alone should be significant enough to be awarded an Answerbank funded research grand chakka.
Does she look like this or like this or this?
In any case haven�t we all heard of (or seen) women �with a face that could stop a clock� for reasons that should be quite apparent . . .
. . . although the phenomenon may not be limited to only woman.
In any case haven�t we all heard of (or seen) women �with a face that could stop a clock� for reasons that should be quite apparent . . .
. . . although the phenomenon may not be limited to only woman.
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