How does a digital clock keep counting seconds?
The Crystal's Tiny Dance
How does a digital clock keep counting seconds?
You glance at your phone. 3:47:23. You look away, look back. 3:47:31. Eight seconds passed while you weren't watching. How does a little computer chip inside keep counting every single tick, even when the screen is off, even when you're asleep?
Inside every digital clock is a tiny piece of crystal—usually quartz, the same stuff in some rocks and sand. This crystal has a secret power: when you run electricity through it, it vibrates. Not a big shake you can see. A tiny, invisible wiggle, back and forth, back and forth, like the world's most boring dance.
