The Swiss invent a novel watch spring

DIGITAL ELECTRONICS has transformed many consumer-goods industries, but analogue niches survive and even thrive. Vinyl records have staged a comeback${}^1$, sales of printed books have been growing faster than e-books in some markets, and cameras that use old-fashioned film have seen a bit of a revival. The Swiss are also still happily making mechanical watches, particularly the high-end sort, and last year exported more than 7m of them worth some SFr15bn ($15bn).

novel [ˈnɒvl] 小说，新颖的

analogue [ˈænəlɒɡ] 指针式

niche [niːʃ] 小众市场

thrive [θraɪv] 蓬勃发展

vinyl [ˈvaɪnl] 黑胶唱片

revival [rɪˈvaɪvl] 振兴

数字电子技术已经改变了许多消费品行业，但指针式钟表的小众市场依然存在，甚至于蓬勃发展。在一些市场，黑胶唱片已经 卷土重来${}^1$，纸质书的销售增长速度超过了电子书，使用老式胶卷的照相机也呈现了一定程度的复苏。瑞士人仍乐于制造机械手表，尤其是高端手表。去年，瑞士出口了逾700万块手表，价值约150亿瑞士法郎(合150亿美元)。

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Whereas an electronic watch uses a battery as its power source and a quartz oscillator to measure time, a mechanical watch relies on a set of gears and springs. A coiled mainspring stores the energy needed to turn the gears, and the movement is regulated by an oscillating balance wheel controlled by a tiny hairspring. Mainsprings and hairsprings have to be made of special alloys that retain their physical characteristics as much as possible in different temperatures, so that the watch maintains its accuracy wherever its wearer ventures.

whereas 用以比较两个事物，写在句子开头

quartz [kwɔːts] 石英

oscillator [ˈɒsɪleɪtə®] 振荡器

coil [kɔɪl] 盘绕

regulate [ˈreɡjuleɪt] 控制，管理，调节

alloy [ˈælɔɪ ] 合金

venture [ˈventʃə®] 冒着…的危险 (ad~)

电子表的测时动力来源是电池和石英振荡器，而机械手表则依靠一组齿轮和弹簧。一个盘绕的主弹簧储存了转动齿轮所需的能量，指针运动由一个微小的游丝弹簧控制其平衡轮摆。主弹簧和游丝弹簧必须由特殊合金制成，在不同的温度下尽可能保持它们的物理特性，这样手表无论在何处佩戴都能保持精度

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Most mechanical Swiss watches use springs made from an iron-nickel alloy${}^1$ called Nivarox, produced by a company of the same name that is part of the Swatch Group. But the dominance of Nivarox may about to be unwound. A different sort of spring has started undergoing tests with an unnamed Swiss watchmaker. This new spring is the result of a process developed by researchers at the Laboratory for Mechanics of Materials${}^2$ and Nanostructures${}^3$, part of Empa, the Swiss federal research institute for materials science.

dominance [ˈdɒmɪnəns] 支配，控制

unwound(unwind) [ˌʌnˈwaʊnd] 解开，打开

institute [ˈɪnstɪtjuːt] 教育机构，研究所

大多数瑞士机械手表都使用由一种名为尼瓦洛克斯的 铁镍合金${}^1$ 制成的弹簧，该合金是斯沃琪集团的一家同名公司生产的。但是尼瓦洛克斯的统治地位可能即将被打破。另一种不同的弹簧已经开始与一家未具名的瑞士钟表制造商进行测试。这个新的弹簧是由 材料力学${}^2$ 和 纳米结构${}^3$ 实验室的研究人员开发的，该实验室是瑞士联邦材料科学研究所Empa的一部分。

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Instead of the traditional method of finely transforming a metal wire into a thin spring, the process can produce new types of spring that open up novel design possibilities for watchmakers. The Empa team use a form of electroplating to “grow” mainsprings and hairsprings. The process begins with a wafer of silicon, similar to those used to make computer chips. The wafer is coated with an electrically conductive${}^1$ layer of gold, on top of which is added a layer of light-sensitive paint. Light is then projected onto the surface; a mask keeps only the required shape of the coiled spring in the shade. The illuminated area reacts with the paint, causing it and the gold beneath to be etched away with chemicals. The shape of the spring is left behind, outlined in gold. The wafer is then placed into a bath containing dissolved metallic compounds and an electric current is applied, causing metal to be deposited onto the gold outline to build up the spring.

finely [ˈfaɪnli] 精巧的，细微的

electroplating [ɪˈlektrəpleɪtɪŋ] 电镀

wafer [ˈweɪfə®] 威化饼，薄片

silicon [ˈsɪlɪkən] 硅

coat [kəʊt] 涂层

conductive [kənˈdʌktɪv] 导电的

illuminate [ɪˈluːmɪneɪt] 照明

etch [etʃ] 蚀刻

outline [ˈaʊtlaɪn] 轮廓

metallic [məˈtælɪk] 金属的

deposit [dɪˈpɒzɪt] 沉积，定金

这个过程不同于传统的将金属丝精细转化为细弹簧的方法，它可以生产出新型的弹簧，为制表商提供了新颖设计可能性。 Empa 团队使用电镀的形式来"种植"主弹簧和游丝弹簧。 这个过程始于一片类似于用来制造计算机芯片的硅晶片。 晶片表面涂上一层 导电${}^1$ 金，在导电金上面再涂上一层光敏漆。 然后光线被投射到表面上，阴面则由一个小罩仅仅保持卷曲弹簧所需的形状。 被照亮的区域与涂层起反应，导致涂层和下面的黄金被化学物质蚀刻掉。 弹簧的形状留下来了，用金色勾勒出轮廓。 晶片然后被放入含有溶解的金属化合物的浴缸中，同时施加电流，使金属沉积在金片轮廓上，从而形成弹簧。

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A few other processes are required to check, clean and finish the springs before they are sent off to the watchmaker for testing in prototype timepieces. The lab is also working on variations in the process, including a form of 3D printing, to manufacture springs in different shapes and to produce other minute structures which might be used in mechanical watches.

timepiece [ˈtaɪmpiːs] 钟

minute [ˈmɪnɪt] 微小的，分钟

在检查、清理和最终完成弹簧之前还需要进行一些其他的过程，这之后才能递交给钟表制造商进行对原型时钟的测试。该实验室还在尝试在这个过程中运用各种变化(包括使用3D打印)来制造不同形状的弹簧，并生产其他可用于机械手表的微小结构。

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There is some way still to go in refining the process, says Laetitia Philippe, one of the Empa researchers. The materials which can be used should provide watch springs with good temperature stability, she adds. Moreover, the springs could be made lighter and, as they are built up layer by layer, have specific features incorporated into their structure for different types of watch mechanisms. Dr Philippe believes the springs could also be used in other devices, such as electronic and mechanical sensors. All of which suggests the analogue world still has plenty of time on its side.

incorporate [ɪnˈkɔːpəreɪt] 包含

Empa研究人员之一LaatetiaPhilippe说，在改进这一过程方面还有一段路要走。她补充说，可以使用的材料应该为手表弹簧提供良好的温度稳定性。此外，弹簧可以变得更轻，因为他们是层层建立，有特殊的特点结合到他们的结构，为不同类型的手表机构。菲利普博士认为，这种弹簧也可以用于其他设备，如电子和机械传感器。所有这些都表明，指针类型仍有充足的时间站在它一边。