Miracle Of Time (1947)

there's one thing that you and i and every other person on earth have in common one single concept without which the whole world would be thrown into other confusion trains could not run planes could not fly great ships would remain tied to their moorings without it you and i could not meet at this microphone we depend upon it a dozen times a day yet few of us ever stopped to think of it at all it is the miracle of time [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] let's try a little test let's see how well if you had no watch you could judge the passage of time let's have the lights out please listen time is ticking away can you tell how much time how many seconds from the instant i said listen until now how long a period would you say that was actually it was ten and two fifth seconds how close did you guess few of us if any could say exactly or time is an elusive thing difficult to grasp so we have divided it up into segments hours minutes seconds so that we can take advantage of each moment as it comes and use these measures to regulate our lives in the morning in the evening and all throughout the day most of the things we do are governed by the steady hands of time every day a million and a half americans journey by railroad each with a special destination a network of travel possible only because every single one of us knows the exact pinpoint of time that is meant when we hear the announcer say today when all the world is our next door neighbor great flying hotels carry their hundreds of passengers across thousands of miles of ocean safely and easily because the language of time is universal okay twa number 59 off time 44 okay to leave tower frequency twa 59 to laguardia tower we are off at 44. and on the sea schedules are set not by the whim of man but by the law of time for time and tide tell us when to move a giant liner from her birth on some occasions the important unit of time is the hour sometimes it's minutes [Music] sometimes seconds and when the matter of life and death is involved to that individual at least the split second may become as important as eternity [Music] because over all our lives the measure of time spreads its guiding hands figuratively as well as literally so has time created an industry to provide the means of measurement here is a vital feel of endeavor with its own exclusive talents and language and instruments with its fine craftsmen to whom the head of a pin is oftentimes the arena for their skills the modern watch is both a machine and an instrument self-contained complete with its own engine the smallest useful piece of machinery we know some watches depend only on the movement of your arm to keep them going most of them weigh less than an ounce yet they keep pace with the sun and stars so easily that to tell the time needs only a brief glance at the dial simple isn't it [Music] but look at it another way and it's not at all simple [Music] 117 parts each fashioned to ultimate precision some parts so small a capsule contains tens of thousands [Music] parts made of different kinds of metal each with its special qualities to assure perfect weight balance to take care of a wide range of temperatures because a watch must run at the same speed in summer and winter hot or cold would you believe that in this cubic inch of steel alloy worth only a few cents there is the equivalent of 65 200 hair springs worth many thousands of dollars the hair spring is one of the most delicate parts in your watch its function is to keep the watch running at constant speed attached to the balance wheel it must move to a precise rhythm a rhythm that is first adjusted on an ingenious machine [Music] here the frequency of the oscillations are registered through a microphone onto an electronic recorder upon the quality and timing of the hair spring depends the accuracy of the watch you have heard of jewels in a watch here you can see how tiny they are against the letters in a telephone directory they are ruby jewels drilled and shaped to smooth perfection they can be machined more perfectly than any metal that can be used and because they are harder and less porous than metal these jeweled bearings are placed at all strategic points in your watch to guard against wear or friction some parts that hold other parts together are so small that dozens of them will cling to your fingertip yet each one is fashioned think you're pretty good with a screwdriver how would you like to work on these [Music] you can't judge value by size for this tiny pallet is the ticker in your watch swinging back and forth more than 13 million times a month another example of small size and great precision in this little fusion world an inch is as big as a mile yet every part must be accurate to within a ten thousandth part of that inch but tiny as these parts are to practice eyes and deft fingers the assembly of a watch is a well worked out clear-cut process each step is an exacting one and must be done in its turn with the proper tools and proper care so that at the end what was a collection of many parts becomes a machine that will accurately measure the passing of time [Music] a machine of such fine precision needs a case that will not only carry it but protect it as well since most watches today are worn upon the wrist the case however small or delicately modeled must withstand the jars the wear and tear of our active lives so case manufacture and design calls for high technical knowledge and placing the watch in its case calls for care and expert handling with some of the smaller ladies watches that handling requires depth fingers and unusual dexterity [Music] then a thorough inspection to be sure that the movement and the crystal fit the case properly that the hands are correctly set every detail gets critical attention will the watch keep time here's an instrument that can answer that question the watch is clamped to a microphone which amplifies its ticking [Music] the sounds are translated into dots on paper which show the accuracy of operation of the watch this test in only half a minute indicates how the watch will run for 24 hours here's another type of timing device that goes a step further you've heard the heartbeats of a watch now you can see them fractional seconds transformed into weird patterns on the screen of an oscilloscope here in the research laboratory many unusual instruments are used to determine the performance of a watch what does this look like to you an eclipse of the moon actually it's a photo micrograph of the exact amount of oil that should go into the cap jewel of a watch the size of that oil ring is very important to proper lubrication [Music] it is through such doorways that men of research look into this world of miniature sights and sounds seeking constantly for improvements in watch engineering and design because of their work watches have progressed from the bulky burdens of another day to the sturdy compact things of beauty that we can use confidently where proudly ladies watches have developed in the same way combining ever greater time keeping precision with the styling of fine watches and to bring this combination of styling and precision to an even higher level a patented curved movement has been created for cases that conform to the natural curve of the wrist the curving permits larger working parts for better time keeping and more beautiful designs this is important because modern fashion calls for watch styles for all purposes and occasions afternoon [Music] here for the businessman [Music] at work at play gentle taskmasters that keep us continually aware of the time so that we may use it to full advantage most of us when we look at a watch see only its external beauty the shining case the sparkle of the hands the numbers on a gleaming dial very few of us stop to wonder what's inside what makes them tick what makes them run on time let's wonder about it now [Music] when you wind your watch it's the main spring that you wind you store up the energy that will run the watch for more than a day the main spring is coiled inside a flat round box or barrel this barrel turns as the mainspring on coils the barrel is connected by its geared teeth to the train which is a series of wheels and pinions when the mainspring uncoils about an eighth of a turn this wheel the center wheel goes around once [Music] this one the third wheel eight times [Music] this one the fourth wheel 60 times and this one the escape wheel 600 times there we have something to work with wheels that can be used to turn different hands at different rates of speed here in a panoramic view of the inside of a watch we can see how the wheels are geared to turn one another but just these parts are not enough to make a watch for if we should wind the mainspring at this point it would promptly uncoil as rapidly as possible spinning the wheels merrily but not measuring time until all the power in the mainspring had been dissipated so something else is needed a traffic policeman that will keep the power in the main spring from running away yet allow it to move forward at a definite rate of speed and here it is the escapement this model of an escapement mechanism shows how the power from the mainspring is controlled [Music] five times every second the power from the escape wheel is stopped and released by the action of the pallet here's how it happens the inclined surfaces of the escape wheel transmit power to the impulse face of the pallet in a fine watch these faces are made of jewels called pallet stones as the pallet swings it turns the balance wheel [Music] when the balance wheel turns it winds up the hair spring then when the escape wheel releases the pallet the power from the hair spring turns the balance wheel back to start the cycle all over again [Music] it is the exact timing of the oscillations of the balance wheel that determines the precision of your watch [Music] the rhythmic dance of the parrot jewels against the teeth of the escapement wheel is what makes your watch tick five ticks every second 18 000 ticks an hour day in day out 157 million 680 000 times a year how far do you suppose it travels in that length of time just imagine that this tiny balance wheel were rolling steadily on tracks like the wheels of a locomotive running down the mainline at five revolutions per second in a single year this ticking wheel travels the distance from san francisco to new york [Music] to keep a locomotive rolling across the country for the same distance at least six times during that trip it would be carefully inspected and a dozen vital points would have their all-important portions of oil a watch needs oiling too not so much but it's just as important to its performance and a thorough cleaning and inspection at least once during that run from san francisco to new york that's why the watch repair man plays as vital a role in keeping precision in your watch as the maker plays in building precision into it that means taking the watch apart piece by piece each part soaked in a cleaning solution then scrubbed like a school boy's ears carefully examined for signs of impacted dirt and rust the jewels cleaned with wooden pegs the pinion shafts cleaned with a special kind of fibrous wood then oil just the right amount just the right kind in just the right places to make sure that it is ready for another year of dependable service service that will mean most to those who have learned the value of time for the ability to use time well is a mark of character that's why the watch has come to measure not only the hours and minutes but also the significance of the years in this world which is geared to keep pace with the sun and stars to each of us is given the gift of time treasure that gift and use it wisely for with the passing years we come to be known for what we have done with it it is a symbol of progress moving always forward never back assuring that each new hour will deliver its full count of 60 minutes and that it will be so always erasing the past naming the present measuring the future working the miracle of time [Music] you