Can Hardware Create Magnetic Fields
I am an avid watchmaker...you young guys may not remember mechanical watches...and as of late I have noticed a few problems that I can't explain. The heart of a watch is the 'Hairspring' and it is a very delicate thread of wire that causes a wheel to oscillate and create the 'beat' of a watch. The Hairspring is VERY susceptible to any magnetic fields. A Hairspring can easily become magnitized and cause a watch to run fast until the Hairspring is demagnitized.
Lately I have had several watches to start running fast for no apparent reason. However, I have my laptop sitting on my workbench and always have my watches laying all around.
So, my questions to the hardware experts is: Is there a magnetic field created by computer hardware and more specifically a MacBook strong enough that it may cause a magnetic issue with my Hairsprings? I know there are lots of varibles, but I figured this would be the best place to start my search.
Thanks...
MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.7)