chronometer

chronometer (krənŏm`ətər), instrument for keeping highly accurate time, used especially in navigation. Before the advent of radio time signals it was the only device that provided the time accurately enough for a ship at sea to determine its longitude. A mechanical chronometer is a spring-driven escapement timekeeper, like a watch, but its parts are more massively built. Changes in the tension of the spring caused by variations in temperature are compensated for by devices built into it. Modern chronometers are electronic, using the vibrations of a quartz crystal to regulate the rate at which a time-indicating display moves.

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chronometer

Mechanical timekeeping device of great accuracy, particularly one used for determining longitude (see latitude and longitude) at sea. Early weight- and pendulum-driven clocks were inaccurate because of friction and temperature changes and could not be used at sea because of the ship's motion. In 1735 John Harrison invented and constructed the first of four practical marine timekeepers. The modern marine chronometer is suspended to remain horizontal whatever the inclination of the ship and differs in parts of its mechanism from the ordinary watch. A chronometer may provide timekeeping accurate to within 0.1 second per day. See also Ferdinand Berthoud.