Watches vs Science Time!
Scientists in June, 2010 measured the shortest time interval ever...20 ATTOSECONDS. One auttosecond is one billionth of one
billionth of a second!
Watchmaking has continued to produce increased accuracy devices...the increased accuracy of mechanical movements, the accutron, quartz movements & now with science the movement is sometimes controlled by atomic calculations sent via radio signals.
The engineered and consistent development led to vast improvements in in time accuracy for watches. Nothing matches the current cellphone, GPS & computers except for the new scientific methods of time accuracy!
So...WHAT DO Scientists, Sexagesimalists & Horologists have in common? NO...it's not the last FOUR letters!
Sexagesimalists Could Be Horologists TOO?
Thousand of years ago, sexagesimalists devised a system for calculating time! A few centuries ago, horologists began to exist and their clocks & watches utilized sexagesimal timekeeping methods.
Most watch and clock experts don't even know the the word 'sexagesimal'. If you told others that you were involved with and an expert in using or repairing sexagesimal instruments...they'd probably think that you were an extremely strange person. If you informed some that you were also a Horologist...you'd really set the stage for further discussion.
For thousand of years man knew about different directions that all of us continually travel throughout the universe and the tremendous
speeds which we travel. This necessidated sound mathematical methods for calculations. Babylonians 4,000 years ago mastered mathematics and formulated the fundamental mathematical laws that we utilize today.
About 500 BC, Nebu-rimanni, a Babylonian, (he was called Naurianus in Greek) made use of 0 in astronomical tables as well as numeral 1 to 9.. He
was accurately capable in calculating the time taken for the earth to rotate on it's axis daily moving at about 1,027 mph as this occurs at the equator.
At the North Pole (90 degrees north) and South Pole (90 degrees south), the speed is effectively zero since that spot rotates once in 24 hours speed. The speed at other latitudes is calculated by multipling the cosine of the degree latitude times the speed of 1037.5646 mph.
At 45 degrees north, the cosine is .7071068 multipied by 1037.5464 calculates the rotational speed of 733.65611 mph. For some other latitudes...
10° - 1021.7837 mph
20° - 974.9747 mph
30° - 898.54154 mph
40° - 794.80665 mph
50° - 666.92197 mph
60° - 518.7732 mph
70° - 354.86177 mph
80° - 180.16804 mph
Nebu also calculated using sexagesimal math that the earth took 365 days, 6 hours, 15 minutes and 4 seconds to revolve around the sun (he was off by only a small time). The earth is actually speeding at about 66,660 mph or 365.2425 days. While this is happening our entire solar system is revolving through our galaxy plus our galaxy is moving within the universe.
Our primitive decimal system is basically based upon using our ten digits 8 fingers plus 2 thumbs. For improved calculations the Babylonians evolved and created the sexagesimal system of using 60, not 10. We use it to divide the circle in 360 major parts, called degrees; the hour is divided in 60 parts called minutes and then 60 seconds for a minute.
Horologists can now proudly also call themselves sexagesimal experts or Sexagesimalists.
Cellphones and GPS have Atomic Clocks:
Cellphones - Now are synchronized to one millionth of a second daily using atomic time. Most cell stations have atomic clocks too.
GPS - Currently a network of 24 satelites each with atomic clocks for precise time stamped signals. Precise timestamps allow the GPS device to accurately determine global position.
NEW Science Clocks...Cesium, Strontium, Quantum & Mercury:
Cesium - Microwaves excite TEN Million Cesium atoms a total of 9 billion oscillations each second, sccurate to ONE second every 100 million years!
Strontium - Lasers excite TWO Thousand Strontium atoms a total of 430 trillion oscillations each second, accurate to ONE second every 300 million years!
Quantum Logic - Lasers excite a Aluminum atom then a Berylium atom reports that excitation a total of 1.1 quadrillion oscillations each second, accurate to ONE second in 3.7 billion years!
Mercury Ion - Laser excite a SINGLE Mercury atom 40.5 billion oscillations each second, accurate to ONE second every billion years.
Earth & Universal Time is always CHANGING!
Earth's precession (wobble) is something to consider. The axial tilt angle is called the obliquity of the ecliptic, and has an average value of A = 23.496932°. Over a period of 41 thousand years, it goes up and down from this average value, by about plus and minus 0.860° degrees it is currently decreasing from a maximum of 24 degrees towards a minimum of 22.5 degrees. This variation goes in a 41 thousand year cycle. Earth's axis is currently pointing at the North Star, Polaris, but it is always rotating around in a conical pattern. In about 10,000 years, it will point toward the star Vega, which will mean that winter in the Northern Hemisphere will begin in June instead of January. After 20,000 years, the axis will again point at Polaris.
This does not affect the length of the our so-called 24-hour day as averaged over a years with the leap years and necessary infrequent corrections. But for any particular day during the year, there is an affect. This is included in the 'equation of time.' The changes in obliquity of the ecliptic affect the length of the day by only plus or minus 0.008 seconds, and that's over the whole 41,013 year cycle.
There are other things the change the length of the day too by much larger amounts. For example, the changes in the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit, and the drag from the Moon plus our tides, our planets liquid core friction and universal events as our solar system travels through our galaxy and universe.
SO...within the future, I'll simply set my watches as required for events to cellphone time and be content knowing that I'm close enough. Most of the time I'll trust my cellphone without a watch!
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