Which consequence results from increased humidity affecting an 18th-century marine chronometer's balance wheel?

💡 Explanation

When humidity increases, the wooden components of the balance wheel absorb moisture, altering its dimensions and mass distribution, causing variation in the moment of inertia and oscillation period leading to timing errors. Therefore accuracy is reduced rather than mainspring failure, discolouration, or case warping, which would involve different material properties and failure mechanisms.

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