Useful information: How do light-powered watches work?
The light enters the watch through the watch's crystal and dial. It then hits a solar cell underneath the dial. In some watches, the solar cell is a disk as big as the dial itself. In others, it's a smaller rectangle. The light knocks loose electrons in the solar cell, creating electrical current. The current is then stored in the battery or capacitor. From that point on, the watch operates just as traditional quartz watches do--i.e., the electricity sets the quartz crystal vibrating and the vibrations are divided into one-second impulses which are transmitted to the stepping motor, gear train, and finally the watch display. |
