At a time when the passage of time was dictated by the movement of the sun and the seasons, the introduction of “clock time” in Hellenistic Greece, around the 3rd century BCE, marked a radical shift in people’s daily lives. Historian Sofie Remijsen, a researcher at the University of Amsterdam, has delved into this phenomenon, […]
Time
Posted inMiddle Ages, Science
When the Venerable Bede Established That a ‘Moment’ Lasted 90 Seconds
Most historical civilizations, such as the Sumerians, Egyptians, Chinese, Babylonians, Greeks, Mayans… used natural measures of time. These include the day, the solar year, or the phases of the moon. The Egyptians were among the first to divide the day into equal parts, using sundials for daylight hours and merjets, a type of plumb line […]
Posted inScience
Scientists Explain How to Build Time-Traveling Quantum Sensors
Time travel has always fascinated fans of science fiction. While science says traveling to the future is possible if you can move close to the speed of light, going back in time is impossible. But what if scientists could use the strange rules of quantum physics to learn about past events? New research shows this […]
Posted inCulture, Science
How the Nocturnal Works: the Device that allowed Sailors to tell Time in the Dark (Video)
A nocturnal is a device used to determine local time based on the relative positions of two or more stars in the night sky. Sometimes called a horologium nocturnum (nighttime timepiece) or nocturlabe (in French and occasionally used by English writers), this tool is related to the astrolabe and sundial. Typically constructed of materials like […]
