I'm trying to understand the output of clockwork coils in joules or watts for different coils. You know the pullback car or windup pocket watch mechanism. I have heard it also called power in the barrel.
I found this below image as is the best approximation of the power output, but I don't know the coil size, or how to determine the size of a coil barrel for a particular out requirements.
Question, how to determine output of a clockwork motor of given sizes?
This chart is for 5W hand powered generators and 100W pedal generators. It doesn't equate to the use of a mainspring, which is what I was also looking for.
What it doesn't shows is the loss of power when converting mechanical energy into electricity. The first line shows a value of 1 Watt taking 0.6 seconds to charge at 100W, which is 60W, which is one watt-hour, or the amount of energy needed to power 1W for 1 hour.
You can't put in 60W of power and get 60W back out in real life, you will always lose some of it.
The ratings they have assigned to the devices are also not accurate, at all.
So far from what I have read, you could make any size mainspring, out of any suitable material, and then measure the output, but a watch mechanism is very weak, it roughly equates to 1.5 volts, which sounds high, but it only puts out a few micro-amps, so the wattage is tiny.
Whatever energy you put into the mainspring you will get back slightly less, you cannot gear it to put-out more than is put into it initially. If the mechanism is stiff or inefficient you will get back much less.
Basically, you cannot use clockwork to produce electricity without losing some of the power you put into it with your hands, and then losing even more when you attempt to convert it through a dynamo into electricity, which is extremely inefficient.
