Posted on Aug 27, 2021
Every Second Counts: What Clocks Can Tell Us About Time
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Author David Rooney would likely take issue with the words of one of his namesakes. Among David Bryne’s most famous lyrics are these lines:
“Time isn’t holding us, time isn’t after us”
“Time isn’t holding us, time doesn’t hold you back.”
Rooney’s new book, “About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks,” looks at the many ways those in power have used timepieces to make war, seek peace, advance knowledge, and set a moral code. Through the stories of twelve clocks, the historian and lifelong clock enthusiast takes us on a journey.
From the unveiling of al-Jazari’s castle clock in 1206 in present-day Turkey; to the Cape of Good Hope observatory at the southern tip of Africa, where nineteenth-century British government astronomers moved the gears of empire with a time ball and a gun; to the burial of a plutonium clock now sealed beneath a public park in Osaka, where it will keep time for 5,000 years.
Rooney says every clock has some ulterior motive; be it political, social, or economic. Merely measuring time is just the start.
“Time isn’t holding us, time isn’t after us”
“Time isn’t holding us, time doesn’t hold you back.”
Rooney’s new book, “About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks,” looks at the many ways those in power have used timepieces to make war, seek peace, advance knowledge, and set a moral code. Through the stories of twelve clocks, the historian and lifelong clock enthusiast takes us on a journey.
From the unveiling of al-Jazari’s castle clock in 1206 in present-day Turkey; to the Cape of Good Hope observatory at the southern tip of Africa, where nineteenth-century British government astronomers moved the gears of empire with a time ball and a gun; to the burial of a plutonium clock now sealed beneath a public park in Osaka, where it will keep time for 5,000 years.
Rooney says every clock has some ulterior motive; be it political, social, or economic. Merely measuring time is just the start.
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Every Second Counts: What Clocks Can Tell Us About Time
Posted from the1a.org
Posted 3 y ago
Responses: 1
Edited 3 y ago
Posted 3 y ago
Interesting article! Time waits for no one.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
3 y
SGT (Join to see) Part of Being a "Cryptologic Technician" and Technician for Fiber Optics, I've taken a lot of Courses on Time, Synchronization and Telemetry.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
3 y
Listen to more from The Police: https://ThePolice.lnk.to/EssentialsDiscover more about this classic song and the Synchronicity album: http://www.udiscovermus...
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SGT (Join to see)
3 y
THE ROLLING STONES/Time Waits For No One/HD
THE ROLLING STONES/Time Waits For No One/HD
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