Mainspring questions

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:32 am     Post subject: Mainspring questions

Okay, bear with me here...

I'm new here and very new to clockwork in general, but I've been getting interested in it lately and wanting to learn what I can.

So I have a question about mainsprings. I get the basic idea of how they power the gear train, and how the ratchet and pawl works to allow it to be wound up with the clock still running, and so on. But there's a very basic concept I'm missing here: namely, what is it that causes the mainspring to slowly release its energy over a period of hours or days, rather than releasing it all at once?

Again, I apologize for the simplicity of the question, but I'm eager to learn and this confusion is throwing up a roadblock for me.

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 7:34 pm     Post subject: mainspring question

The tick-tock that you hear a clock make is the slow, controlled release of the mainspring power. Go to this site to learn more.
http://www.howstuffworks.com/clock.htm