The dye quartz ring oscillator as a standard of frequency and time

At the time of his death the late Dr. D. W. Dye was investigating the oscillations of a quartz ring, cut to have a frequency of 20,000 cycles per second, and intended to form a frequency standard. The work has been continued, the properties of the ring fully investigated, and the oscillator has now been in operation as a standards of very high precision. Previous investigations on quartz resonators had shown conclusively the complexity of the modes of oscillation of thin quartz plates and even of plates of a thickness comparable with their length and breadth. Such complications in the vibrations increase the logarithmic decrement and render it necessary to increase the couple between the quartz and the driving circuit for the maintenance of oscillations. The frequency thereby becomes more dependent on circuit conditions and the ocsillator becomes less suitable as a standard of frequency. The type of oscillator described here and the method of mounting are chosen with a view to obtaining as pure a vibration and as low a decrement as possible.