mainspring

thumb|An uncoiled modern watch mainspring. thumb|Clock mainspring thumb|A pendulum clock|pendulum wall clock movement showing the two mainsprings which power it. This is a [[striking clock which sounds the hours on a chime; one of the springs powers the timekeeping gear train while the other powers the striking train]]

A mainspring is a spiral torsion spring of metal ribbon—commonly spring steel—used as a power source in mechanical watches, some clocks, and other clockwork mechanisms. Winding the timepiece, by turning a knob or key, stores energy in the mainspring by twisting the spiral tighter. The force of the mainspring then turns the clock's wheels as it unwinds, until the next winding is needed. The adjectives wind-up and spring-powered refer to mechanisms powered by mainsprings, which also include kitchen timers, metronomes, music boxes, wind-up toys and clockwork radios.