The moon has always been a mysterious object to mankind. In actuality it is a natural satellite, not a star or planet. For thousands of years the brightly glowing spot in the sky has been linked heavily to superstition, science, and even religion. While the moon is not relied upon so much for telling the hours of the day as a traditional timepiece does, the moon is relied upon for telling time in accordance to phases. The best way to keep track of the moon’s phases is by purchasing a calendar with the phases marked; additionally weather forecasting websites will usually provide this information online.

The new lunar phase occurs when the moon and sun are on the same side of Earth as one another; this is the phase in which the moon is not visible. Following the new phase is the waxing crescent phase, in which only a sliver of the moon is visible. After this the moon reaches the first quarter phase, allowing half visibility. When three quarters are visible, the moon is said to be in the waxing gibbous phase. A full moon phase reveals the entire moon shining intensely. Eventually the moon will lose visibility and reverse the entire process, first moving to the waning gibbous stage where it appears at three quarters visibility. As it rotates further, the moon reaches the last quarter phase, revealing half visibility; the last sliver of moon following this phase is the waning crescent phase. After the waning crescent phase has passed, the moon cycles into the new moon phase again, then repeats the entire cycle.

Lunar Phases - A chart depicting the various phases of the moon.

In ancient Egypt, China and Babylon, superstitions about the moon and its phases are recorded in several instances. The moon was supposed to relate to the cycle of life, with the beginning of a new moon being paired with birth and the last phase of the moon relating to death. Some believed the moon played a significant role in determining immortality and afterlives of humans, therefore worshiping it would aid in immortality or a prosperous afterlife. During certain phases of the moon, specific rituals would be performed and others must be avoided, for fear of harm or sickness befalling a person. Food, liquids, possessions and even newborn babies were placed in the light beams of the full moon to absorb that phase’s supposed healing and beneficial powers from the light, which supposedly brought health, youthfulness and wisdom.

Both the phases of the moon and its alternating dominance with the sun in the sky have been linked to various religious beliefs of ancient gods and their battles with one another. With their belief in several life cycles of birth and death, the Hindus linked the phases of the moon to the phases of life and death, associating the glowing moon with the god Soma. Soma was always depicted in a manifestation of youth or strength, often as a bull or embryo. The moon’s cycles of self-renewal have always been associated with youth in ancient times. Egyptians also had a saying “as young as the moon” to describe a youthful feeling or look.

A still photo from the wonderful old film, "A Trip to the Moon" by Georges Méliès.

As technology advanced and man was able to understand the mysteries of the moon by connecting it to scientific facts, many superstitions faded away. There are still some superstitions related to the moon’s phases that remain. Some believe a full moon falling on the 13th day of the month, if it is a Friday, will bring imminent widespread destruction. A British superstition involves bowing to the new moon and holding out a silver coin; as the moon grows, it is believed that their money supply will also grow. For many years children were told there was a “man in the moon” during the full moon phase because of the visible craters resembling facial features. Asking the man in the moon for something or making a wish during a full moon was supposed to bring about desirable outcomes. For thousands of years and even today, the moon’s phases play a major role in astrology.

This object of superstition has also been used for many years to tell time. Similar to telling time by the position of the sun with a sundial, the moon may be used to tell time by its position. This is a much more scientific and detailed process than telling time by the sun. Due to the phases of the moon and the position in which it sits at different times, the process involves knowledge of precise angles, the stars and many other extensive details. Because this method involves so many different mathematical and scientific aspects, it is not a popular method for telling the time; however it is very fascinating to those interested in researching and learning something new.

Today lunar phases are still important to certain groups of people. It has been scientifically proven that the gravitation of the moon toward Earth, along with its phases, are directly related to how the ocean tides flow, making the moon’s different phases important to surfers and sailors. Every avid surfer knows the phases of the moon and how they affect the tides; the phase of the moon is taken in accordance with the time of day to determine the size of swells and strength of the waves. Without this crucial information, surfing adventures could either end up in catastrophe or just be very uneventful. Sailors also need to be familiar with tides and moon phases when entering coastal regions of the oceans.

Phases of the moon are not just important to nautical adventurers; they are also important to farmers and people who are passionate about gardening. As the gravitational force pulls upward in the beginning phases of the moon, it is proven that these times are best for planting certain vegetation. Oppositely, when the moon is in the last phases and the gravitational force reverses, it is best to plant other vegetation at these times. For example, during the new moon phase the upward gravitational force is at its strongest, so this is the best time to plant crops whose seeds are produced outside the fruit, such as cabbage, celery and spinach. During the declining phases following a full moon, gravitational forces are stronger in a downward direction. These phases are the best time to plant root crops, such as beets, potatoes or carrots.

The moon certainly is still very mysterious; there are many things we haven’t yet discovered about it.

While the moon may not be used to tell time in measurements of minutes and seconds, it is definitely invaluable for telling “phase time” in regards to planting, sailing, surfing and to those studying astrology.

Tags: gravitational forces, lunar phases, man in the moon, moon, moon phase time, ocean tides, phase time, phases of the moon, rituals, superstitions, Time, time telling

• What Do Clocks Mean In Dreams?
• What Do AM & PM Mean?
• We Wish You A Merry 1234567890 !
• Time Warps – Science Or Fiction?
• Time Travel: Is It For Real?

Many people have spent a good portion of time watching a scoreboard clock during a sporting event, but usually nobody considers where they come from.

Scoreboards range in prices between $2,000 for the most simple and upwards of $15,000,000 for the very elaborate ones.

In the old days, scoreboards included an analog display clock, and scores were tallied with removable cards or placards. Today scoreboard tallies and clocks are all digital, ranging from a simple scoreboard with a countdown clock and score tally to an enormous four-sided display with HD television and cameras. Almost all of the major sports use a time clock that is similar to a countdown stopwatch, and in addition most teams have a regular digital clock on their scoreboard to display the actual time.

Here's an example of an old scoreboard which used analog clocks to display the time (this is from the old Chicago Stadium that was used by the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team).

Timing structures are different for each sport.

Hockey, baseball, basketball, football and soccer are some of the major sports that use countdown scoreboards with two clocks.

The implementation of clocks on scoreboards was a result of too many people complaining that a referee or umpire could not be trusted alone to keep track of the remaining time(!).

Originally, all of these sports all had clocks with minutes and seconds displayed which count down from a set amount of time; for example in football each quarter lasts 15 minutes and in basketball each quarter lasts 12 minutes. Several complaints of clocks counting down the last seconds incorrectly were made; as a result hockey and basketball adopted tenth-of-a-second timekeeping for the last seconds for even more accuracy.

Each sport also has requirements for the standards of the digital clocks used in scoreboards.

The size of the clocks that are used for counting down the time in hockey, basketball, baseball, football and soccer have a display size minimum standard. However, many teams will use clocks that are larger than the minimum. These minimum standards are based on the size of the stadium used in each sport; the size must be large enough to be visible to the spectators who can be found at the furthest distances in the stadium.

There are also several specifications about the accuracy and the making of sports time clocks. Much more time, care and attention to detail are put into crafting these pieces. In addition to all of these factors, such clocks must be weatherproof for outdoor sports such as football, baseball and soccer. Extreme cold and heat are experienced by many outdoor scoreboard clocks, so all clock mechanisms must be resistant to rust, water and extreme temperatures. Regular testing and maintenance is also required for scoreboard clocks.

Scoreboard companies not only make the scoreboards, but also frequently manufacture the clocks which are attached to them. Popular companies used by professional sports teams include OES Scoreboards, All-American Scoreboards, Daktronics and Spectrum Scoreboards. In most cases a scoreboard company will craft the entire scoreboard and all of its components. Some famous sports teams will order a specially designed scoreboard that is a collaboration of many companies. One clock company in history has been used by several notable sports teams for crafting special sports-related clocks: Longines. This company originated in Switzerland and has been crafting sports-related clocks and watches for at least 100 years. Until the 1970s many pro sports stadiums such as the Yankee Stadium boasted analog clocks made by Longines. With the new regulation of digital clocks, Longines’ popularity in making sports clocks used with scoreboards has declined.

One of the most interesting and sophisticated timing methods in sports is that used by Formula 1 Racing. Tag  Heuer was the Official Timekeeper of Grand Prix Formula 1 races for 16 years, and therefore holds the record for being the Official Timekeeper with the longest run. Recently, in March of 2010, Swiss watch company Hublot was named the Official Timekeeper of Formula 1 Racing.

Formula 1 watches used by drivers are certainly no ordinary watch. These devices have very strict requirements and must meet the highest standards, so being named the Official Timekeeper is quite an honor. The components of these watches must be able to withstand severe collision impact, be resistant to intense G-forces between 1.5-3 and be able to withstand extreme temperatures. Also these timepieces must be precisely accurate and reliable in their time telling functionality. Every fragment of each second matters in Formula 1 Racing, so these timepieces have several display faces. Normally the clock face is predominant and smaller faces displaying the seconds and tenths of seconds are displayed in small boxes or circles on the main face.

Racing is not the only sport where a watch is required!

Officials, also called referees in some sports, always carry a stopwatch. Anyone who has regularly watched sporting events which utilize referees knows that these officials receive a lot of negative feedback from fans about undesirable judgments. Exact and precise timekeeping is needed to make the best judgments in these sports. For this reason stopwatches used by referees have very strict quality requirements and must pass each sport’s specific regulations. Most of these timepieces have a regular digital clock as well as a stopwatch digital clock that displays minutes, seconds and tenths of seconds. The Swiss company Hublot was named the Official Timekeeper of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.  Indeed, Swiss watchmakers seem to dominate the world of watches used by referees. In the world of hockey another Swiss company called Tissot was named as the 2010 Official Timekeeper of the IIHF.

In summary, the world of specialized professional sports clocks and watches is dominated by Swiss companies such as Hublot, Tag Heuer, Longines and Tissot.

While most digital scoreboards are crafted by the leading scoreboard companies, some teams sometimes request that custom-made clocks be installed in place of a usual scoreboard company clock. In fact, some famous teams are able to strike a deal with a clock company in exchange for advertising the clock company’s name. Most Formula 1 racing drivers receive their watches as gifts in exchange for endorsements, or as a result of money collected from sponsors and in turn paid to the watchmaker.

Pro sports represents an interesting, specialized world of time-keeping.

Now that you’ve read all about it, we urge you to go enjoy a sports game; just don’t forget to keep an eye on the clock!

Tags: countdown scoreboards, digital clocks, digital scoreboards, formula 1 clocks, formula 1 racing, professional sports clocks, scoreboard clock, scoreboards, sports clocks, sports time clocks, Stopwatches, Tag Heuer

• Twenty-Four Clocks Combined
• The Battle For Your Wrist
• Modern Clock Radio History
• Microwave Your Watch

"Wormhole" painting by the artist Andrew Leipzig

The mysteries surrounding the possibility of the existence of wormholes leaves much to the imagination of many science fiction buffs as well as researchers who endlessly pursue answers to this timeless question.

The field of quantum physics has long since explored the phenomenon regarding wormholes and the possible connection to time travel.

In order to accurately understand the concept of wormholes or for that matter, time travel, an appreciation of space and time need to be addressed.

Space, according to physicists, is essentially our three-dimensional reality in terms of length, height, and depth. The size and structure of things that occupy space take up all three of the dimensions of physical presence. Theoretical physicist John Archibald Wheeler was the first scientist to refer to this spatial structure as a wormhole. Both Wheeler and fellow scientist Robert Fuller described wormholes as unstable compact areas containing anti-matter. While the theoretical speculation of the existence and description of wormholes was fairly agreed upon by most in the scientific community, the notion that a wormhole could actually be traversable was left with skepticism.

The first in the scientific community to bring to light the possibility of a traversable wormhole was Kip Thorne and Mike Morris in 1988. Both hypothesized that the wormhole may be held open by exotic matter, which would allow for gaining entrance inside the wormhole.

Albert Einstein introduced the scientific world to his Theory of Relativity which states that time is relative in nature to the individual entity that is tracking and measuring it. The speed of light indicated that time is not static but dependent upon motion. In terms of space-time, wormholes were explained under the scientific theory known as the Einstein-Rosen Bridge. This theory basically describes the wormhole as a pathway into another time and dimension.

The wormhole can be described as a connection of two very distant points that bring together time and space.

Einstein’s research and study was based on the understanding that atomic mass changes as an object moves through different fields of gravity. In theory, gravity actually is thought to warp or bend space and time. This apparent bending is the basic construct of the wormhole.

While Albert Einstein was a main contributor to wormhole and time travel theory, other scientists and researchers had a hand in developing theories as well. Referring to the Einstein-Rosen Bridge, Nathan Rosen collaborated for many years with Einstein and subsequently helped him with the theory of black holes and time travel.

Through quantum mechanics, which dictates the principles of matter and its behavior, the wormhole acts as a vacuum, due to the anti-matter that is the essence of the wormhole. This vacuum mechanism thus pulls matter through it at an accelerated speed. The wormhole can be described in a sense as a shortcut to distant points in the universe.

The notion of time travel, in respect to the wormhole concept, seems to be quite possible.

While distant galaxies and other dimensions of existence physically may be light years away, being transported through a wormhole speeds up the travel process faster than the speed of light. While the speed of the actual wormhole in time travel may seem to be far fetched, many scientists agree that the likelihood of such travel is not only possible, but quite probable (that’s cool, isn’t it?!).

An interesting facet of wormholes and time travel is that of phantom energy.

Phantom energy can be described as the driving force behind the wormhole. Essentially hypothetical, phantom energy is thought to be continually pushing the expansion of the universe. The strength of such energy is most likely the force that opens the “gate” to the wormhole.

Proving the existence of a wormhole and time travel takes a very scientific outlook and an open mind.

Many scientists claim that the presence of wormholes in the universe is not mere speculation, but that of fact.

In keeping with the advances of technology and quantum physics, things such as wormholes and time travel may, at some point in the future, be accessed and proven as scientific facts.

Science simply has to wait for conventional wisdom and physics to catch up with the overwhelming number of possibilities out there.

Science-enemies and skeptics beware: wormholes and time travel may very well become commonplace sooner than you think!

Tags: albert einstein, anti-matter, einstein-rosen bridge, john archibald wheeler, phantom energy, robert fuller, spacetime, time and space, time travel, time travel theory, traversable wormholes, wormholes

• Time Travel: Is It For Real?
• All About Space Time
• Time Warps – Science Or Fiction?

In the year 2000, we’ll have flying cars with an all natural, all clean, nuclear power cell to carry us to and from work! In the year 2000, we’ll have homes that clean themselves and furniture made out of a space age polymer that we just hose down to clean! In the year 2000, all the computers will shut down and we’ll be tossed into anarchy and chaos.

Wait…what?!

Who else remembers The Millennium Bug? It was called Y2K, Y2K problem, Y2K bug, and The Year 2000 Problem. Lately, it’s been called “a hoax” by many people. It’s been 10 years since toasters were supposed to shut down, cell towers were expected to crumble, and we would never be able to play Space Quest again. We here at Online Clock decided to take a look back and remember the good old days of the Y2K panic.

What was it? A semantic argument.

Way back in the day when computer programmers didn’t think their programs would last more than a few years, they slung code in a language called COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Language). In order to save space with this programming language, they coded the date to be read YYMMDD (this means two digits for year, followed by two digits for month, followed by two digits for the day of the month). It showed up on the screen as MMDDYY, but it was coded as YYMMDD. Macs were coded as YYYYYYYYMMDD (yes, that’s an eight digit year) so this was another problem Macheads didn’t have to worry about, but the term “Machead” wasn’t even known then. The fear was that computers everywhere would read the year 2000 as 1900 and throw everything into “Does Not Compute” Land.

With our gigabytes of ram and terabytes of HDD space, it’s hard to imagine that two bytes would make such a big difference. First, it’d be two bytes for every program that needed a date. That still doesn’t sound like a lot today. Here’s a reminder of yesterday. In the 1980s (when software for the 1990s would be in development), I owned an IBM machine–not a clone, but an actual IBM machine. It contained 64k of HDD space. I used Norton Tree to organize my files, wrote blog entries (I was thinking ahead for you guys) in Word Star 1.0, and printed up cake sale posters in Print Shop 1.0. The mouse had to be installed every time the machine was booted up, because there wasn’t enough space for the machine to remember it. I had to pay extra for a mouse. The whole thing cost $2500 in 1980s dollars ($6500 counting for inflation). So, yes, two bytes was really that precious.

The space problem is what many experts tried to say was the cause. It was a problem to some degree, but the real problem went back further in computer history. The punch cards by which computers were programmed could only accommodate the two digits. It was a physical limitation not a software one.

Let’s recap for a moment. In the year 2000, we faced a problem with computers that started with punch cards. That sounds silly, doesn’t it? But, people took it seriously.

It’s only a date. It’s not a big deal.

There were detractors who tried to speak up, but they were drowned out by naysayers, doomsday barkers, and other so-called experts who have gone into hiding since then. Y2K experts cropped up everywhere in from 1998 to 1999. They sang songs of worry, data destruction, and power outages. Many survivalist groups sprang up out of the woodwork to bring us a whole host of products. Solar powered flashlights, crank powered radios, hand can openers, generators, and bomb-shelters turned Y2K survival shelters were for sale everywhere. There was one commercial that stands out in my memory. It was more propaganda than anything else. I don’t remember the product. At the end of the commercial the family sat in their living room in the dark. Mom had the kids huddled around her under a blanket. A little girl said, “Daddy, I’m cold,” or something like that. Dad started busting up furniture to throw in the fireplace for warmth. All I could think was, “Sure, you won’t freeze to death, but once the fire releases the toxins in that treated and painted wood, you will die.” (OK, maybe I’m a little strange that way…)

Some people panicked. Some people really thought that at the stroke of midnight, life as we knew it would stop. People stock piled food, water, and other supplies. There were even people gathering and storing herbs so they’d have needed medicines. Some people honestly believed their toasters wouldn’t work, their watches would stop, and their homes would be in the dark.

Other people laughed. “Y2K Bug Spray” sold to people with a sense of humor. A “Y2K Bug” plush toy could be purchased at technology stores. All sorts of joke products spread across tech circles.

So what happened, once the year 2000 finally arrived?

Nothing. Nothing happened- nothing at all! Here’s why.

The toaster, coffee pot, and a lot of software aren’t dependent upon the date to function properly. There were reports of credit card companies having problems with cards expiring in 2000 being read as 1900 and being treated as expired, but we can’t confirm that. There were no power outages. The world didn’t run into chaos. Our toasters still worked.

Some companies put a lot of effort and money into becoming Y2K compliant. No one knows if that was wasted money or not. Some people say it was. Some people say it wasn’t.

Millennium panics aren’t new.

The 2012 Doomsday Scare - the hucksterism's starting all over again...haven't we learned anything from the Y2K panic?!

When the world clocked Y1K, people panicked. When the world clocked Y2K people panicked. Now, we have the Unix Millennium Bug breathing down our backs with Y2K38 and the PS Y2k+10 Bug.

It’s a good thing I still have my old can of Y2K Bug Spray.

But I still want that flying car.

Tags: alarm clock blog, bytes, COBOL, computer history, dates, millennium bug, punch cards, two bytes, Y2k, Y2k bug, Y2k compliant, Y2k experts, Y2k problem, year 2000 problem

• Your New Job as Human Alarm Clock
• What’s the Deal with Clockwise?
• What is Horology?
• What Do Clocks Mean In Dreams?
• We Wish You A Merry 1234567890 !

On this blog, we’ve had a lot of discussions about time. How is it measured? How has the technical measurement of time changed over the decades? We’ve discussed ancient, old, and new clocks. We’ve discussed time travel and time dilations. We’ve not discussed how we use time in a cultural sense.

Most of this post will be rooted in the work of the famous anthropologist Edward T. Hall. If you’d like to know more about the cultural salience and manipulation of time, you may want to check out his book “The Silent Language”. His groundbreaking work forever changed how we view the meaning behind the hands of the clock. Mr. Hall’s book was originally published in the late 50’s. Most of the information is still solidly accurate, but we’ll touch on some of the more recent cultural changes later in this post.

Edward T. Hall - Cool guy, scientist and author

The concept of how a society views time can be divided into three categories: formal, informal, and technical. The technical concept of time is limited to scientists and academics. These are the people who need to know if you’re talking about a solar year or a geological year before they can tell how much time comprises a year.
We’ll let them debate that because it makes our heads hurt. Formal time is the time we all know and take for granted. We look at a clock and if the hour hand is on the three and minute hand is on the six, then we consider the time to be 3:30 or “half past three”. That’s the formal concept of time. It’s easily quantified by checking a clock. Concepts like 12:00 being “noon” or “midnight” are also formal concepts of time. The “squishiness” of how we deal with time falls under the informal category. This is also where we most commonly use time. Phrase like “in a little while”, “after a while”, “in a bit”, or “shortly” vary from culture to culture and can vary within a culture. How much formal time is “shortly”? How many minutes, exactly, is “in a bit”?

On a micro-level, if a friend tells you that they will call you “shortly”, you need to know that friend to understand how soon you need to be ready for a phone call. On a macro-level, the informal concept and manipulation of time leads to two different types of societies: monochromic and polychromic.

Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia are prime examples of monochromic societies. Germany is considered staunchly monochromic. Latin American countries are famously polychromic. What does “monochromic” or “polychromic” mean? “Chronic” means “of or related to time” (in this sense). “Mono” means “one” while “poly” means “many”. A “monochromic” society operates on a unified sense of time while polychromic societies operate with many different senses of time.

This fundamental difference can cause huge problems for businesses that cross the “chronic cultural barrier”.

Are you a Monochromic kind of person?

Monochromic societies tend to be focused on time schedules and strictly keep to them. Meetings are planned in advance and agendas are set. If a meeting is set at 4:00, then the bulk of the participants will arrive between 3:45 and 3:55. A short “muttering apology” (as phrased by Mr. Hall) is expected from anyone arriving between 4:00 and 4:05. A longer apology is expected from people who arrive between 4:06 and 4:10. Ten to fifteen minutes after the scheduled start time is entering the “offending zone” of tardiness. Anything after fifteen minutes and the tardiness is considered an egregious offense. The scheduled completion time of the meeting is strictly adhered to and the meeting is only extended under extenuating circumstances.

Monochromic societies encourage people to focus on one task at a time. If the agenda for a meeting states that the future of a website will be discussed, then that topic must be discussed. If other things are discussed instead of the intended topic, then people get a bit discomfited. Meetings that end thirty or more minutes early can disturb some people while meetings that end five to ten minutes early are taken in stride.

Long term planning in monochromic societies are approximately five to ten years into the future. Recent discoveries about environmental hazards are slowly changing the concept of long term planning in some monochromic societies.

Or are you instead more of a Polychromic type?

In polychromic societies, being forty-five minutes late to a meeting is regarded as being five minutes late in a monochromic society. Meetings end when they’re ready to end. Shows and dances start when they’re ready to start. An agenda for a meeting may not be established at all. If there is an agenda, it’s loosely followed. Topics are discussed when they’re ready to be discussed or when they’re needed to be discussed. Polychromic societies are the masters of multi-tasking. Long term planning is very long term with timeframes varying from 20 years to thousands of years.

Multi-tasking is a recent development in some monochromic societies. It’s more of a business buzzword than true multi-tasking. In the USA we expect our employees to keep up on e-mail, phones calls, and write a TPS report (with cover sheet) all at the same time, but we force it into a monochromic schedule. It’s considered rude to text one person while having a face to face conversation with another, but it’s becoming culturally acceptable. It’s more like serial single-tasking than true multi-tasking. In polychromic societies, phone calls are accepted during meetings. E-mails are answered while listening to a supervisor. Texting is perfectly fine. Phoning someone at three in the morning doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an emergency.

Both monochromic and polychromic societies are perfectly functional and productive.

A culturally monochromic person views a culturally polychromic person as living in chaos and being rude while a culturally polychromic person views a culturally monochromic person as stand-offish, rigid, stressed out, and gunning for a heart-attack.

Are heart-attacks an aspect of how we view time?

We’re not going to risk it.

Our next blog post will be up when it’s ready.

Tags: chronic, clocks, edward t. hall, formal time, monochromic, monochromic societies, multi-tasking, polychromic, polychromic societies, serial single-tasking, technical time, the silent language, Time

• What Do Clocks Mean In Dreams?
• The Clockmaster Reminds You
• That Second Leapt Out Right in Front of Me
• Punk Time – Punk Rock Songs About Clocks & Time
• How Different Kinds Of Clocks Work

When people hear the term “Time Warp”, most immediately think of a cosmic blur of gases, the theme song from The Twilight Zone or the famous “Time Warp” song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Whichever way this concept is perceived in peoples’ minds, one thing is certain: no one has yet proven without a doubt that places exist which can alter the fabric of time as we know it.

For many years, the topic of time warps has sparked controversy in the world of science.

It has often been said (and proven true) that the human imagination does not surpass the scopes of reality, however ridiculous they may seem. Some of the most brilliant inventors have believed the impossible and proven the world wrong in their skepticism. Albert Einstein was one of the geniuses who first suggested the possibility of time warps or black holes as a force that when entered would cause objects to move at a different speed or alter their composition entirely by forces which could not be explained by science. Modern scientific theories are considered more concrete when proven in some way. Of course all proven scientific theories do not seem to embrace the quantum explanations but rather the explanations of regularity; that which has a pattern or consistency.

To make the definition of a time warp more clear, it is believed to be a certain area where magnetic and electric forces are altered in such a way to create a sporadic energy-force field, often described as resulting in a fast and spinning or circular motion, forming a tunnel of some sort in the center. When objects made of tangible matter enter these fields, their structure is altered and often projected to another place or time-speed. A branch of science that defies consistency is quantum physics. This theory promotes the idea that energy is sporadic and random; it is believed in this theory that the atomic world is very different than the world as humans perceive it. The entirety of quantum theories is much too extensive to explain, but it definitely is worth considering, as some of the most intellectual and astounding physicists have supported quantum theories. Some may find these ideas preposterous, but in consideration of several real-life examples, skeptics would have to at least reconsider.

In this tangible world, there exist a few popular examples time warps. We’re presenting these to you not as facts, but as interesting examples to spark your further curiosity.

The Bermuda Triangle: Time warp, or just the subject of dozens of sleazy B-movies?

First is the mysteriousness of The Bermuda Triangle. This area in the ocean is believed to be a form of time warp. Many explanations have been offered to dispute that, but this still hasn’t been proven untrue. Numerous ships and airplanes have mysteriously disappeared after entering a certain area in The Bermuda Triangle, some emerging again after a long period of time, others gone without a trace. Perhaps there is a small area comparable to a whirlpool where amplified magnetic and electric fields meet, forming a time warp.

Similarly in 2006, many naysayers were reevaluating their concepts when it was announced that a black hole was discovered in the constellation named Scorpius. This black hole was said to be a spinning force which caused an imprint on space-time, just as Einstein’s theory of relativity explained years before (it was scoffed at when he proposed it years before).

The Philadelphia Experiment: is there any truth to this legend?

Another example was the Philadelphia Project or, as it’s similarly known, the Philadelphia Experiment. This project was conducted by the United States Navy in the 1940s. If this incident doesn’t persuade people to further consider the plausibility of time warps, nothing will. Three separate experiments were performed on a specially designed ship. The ship was built in a way to alter magnetic and electric power when stimulated by a giant generator. During the first experiment, the ship completely vanished into a fog, then appeared again in a fog when the generator was turned off. A second test was performed where just a part of the ship remained visible, but with less amount of time projected from the generator the ship was damaged. Lastly, it was decided that a new crew should be used because the first crew seemed very ill from the experience. After a new crew was selected and sent aboard, the generators were turned on. This time, the ship not only disappeared from Philadelphia, but reappeared in Virginia for a short time until the generator was shut off. It was recorded that some men had become “frozen” on the ship upon reappearance.

Whether people choose to believe that time warps exist or not, there certainly is some evidence to support the theory, including footage of black holes in space, as well as some eyewitness testimony from persons claiming to have been involved with the Philadelphia Project.

If you’re a skeptic, take a second to should consider some of the things deemed supernatural which cannot be explained by science.

Love and altruism are two emotions experienced by just about all of which, and can they be fully explained by science?

There are plenty of tangible and intangible things in the universe which exist but yet defy explanation.

Time warps may be one of these.

You be the judge.

Tags: albert einstein, bermuda triangle, black holes, philadelphia experiment, philadelphia project, quantum physics, rocky horror picture show, science, scientific theories, Time, time warp, time warps

• Time Travel: Is It For Real?
• Wormholes As Time Machines
• What Do Clocks Mean In Dreams?
• What Do AM & PM Mean?
• We Wish You A Merry 1234567890 !

We hope you’ve had your turbo charged coffee this morning, because we’re getting scientific on this blog today! We’ll wait while you get another cup of coffee. It’s OK. We have mornings too.

If you’ve ever spent more than 30 minutes on the Sci-Fi Channel, then you’ve heard the phrase “spacetime continuum“. What exactly does that mean?

Oh, now people want to get that second cup of coffee. We’ll wait. I’m starting the stopwatch now.

Everyone back and seated? Good. Moving on.

Notice that the word “spacetime” is one word. It’s not space time. It’s spacetime. The word intentionally merges space and time into one concept. To explain it, we’ll need to separate the two.

What is space?

Space is a word used to reference three dimensions of existence. We live in a three-dimension world. Things have a length, height, and depth. Even a vacuum has all three dimensions; it’s noting in three different ways. Space is where things are. On the globe we have latitude and longitude lines. These two lines show us where things are on maps. In the universe, on the world, and in our lives, two markers for space won’t cut it. We need all three. Space is the “where” of spacetime.

What is time?

Time is “resistant to simple definition” according to Carl Sagan. Time is time. It’s a fourth dimension all on its own and it’s the vibration of an atom. Until someone measures it and proves otherwise, time is believed to be constant. Oh wait! We did that. Experiments using atomic clocks have shown that time itself changes as astronauts accelerate. The length of a second changes in a measurable way as the object holding the clock approaches the speed of light. Thanks to Albert “there’s math in there” Einstein we have a theory that can help explain that. His Theory of Relativity helps us understand that time is relative to the person observing the time. Time is the “when” of spacetime.

Why do we need both?

If an event happened it had to happen at location and in a point in time. If an event is going to happen it must happen at a location and in a point in time. An event can’t exist in time, but not space. It also can’t exist in space, but not time.

The word “spacetime” is a fancy way of saying when and where something happened, is happening, or will be happening. It is the coalescence of all four dimensions (the three of space and the one of time).

Science fiction plays with this concept a lot. Space travel, inter-dimensional travel, and time travel remove or tweak one or more of the four dimensions. A little adjustment to the space part of spacetime and the members of SG-1 can “phase” into another aspect of this dimension. A subtle shift of the time aspect of spacetime and SG-1 enters into yet another time dilatation field. Why not play around with these concepts when it’s just fiction, right? There’s no such thing as a time dilatation field unless one wants to listen to Mr. Albert “not so fast” Einstein.

The Theory of Relativity led to what is known as the Twin Paradox. This concept is briefly explained in our blog post about time travel in the paragraph that talks about Einstein-Rosen Bridges, commonly called “wormholes”. That is a type of time dilatation. Another type of a time dilation field is a gravity time dilatation field. The field of quantum mechanics looks at physics on an atomic level. The work of Einstein and the work of another scientist named Lorentz has led to the understanding that the movement of atoms changes as an object passes through different gravity fields. The cesium in an atomic clock on Earth will mark the passage of time differently than the cesium of an atomic clock in a different gravitational field. Both gravity and acceleration influence time and create time dilatation fields.

Gravity takes us back to spacetime in a general sense. Gravity not only can create a time dilatation field, but it will actually change the fabric of spacetime. It warps and bends spacetime itself. The mere fact that something exists changes where and when it exists. This is similar to the idea that an observed event is changed simply because it is observed. The presence of an object changes the surroundings of that object.

If spacetime is where and when an event occurs, then it would seem that the word “location” would be an adequate substitute. At one time the word “space” was adequate. This was during the time of a Greek mathematician named Euclid. Euclidean space regards time as a constant. This concept is still used when physicists work with classical mechanics.

On the surface time seems like a very simple construct. It’s this abstract idea that tells us how long we have until we go to work, get up in the morning, or head out for a movie.

We can count down the time till a holiday or mark the passage of time with a stopwatch.

When we dive deeper into the concept of time we realize that our clocks only mark the passage of time.

Time, in and of itself, is a very complex subject and it’s connected with everything in our lives.

And, with that said, it’s time for us to end this blog post.

Tags: atomic clock, Carl Sagan, Einstein-Rosen Bridges, gravity, space, space time, spacetime, spacetime continuum, theory of relativity, Time, twin paradox, wormholes

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“Spring forward, fall back”: that’s a phrase that has been with many Americans their entire life. It’s hard to comprehend that, Daylight Saving Time (DST) (popularly also known with an “S” as Daylight Savings Time) has not always been a part of American culture.

An hour is an hour, right? Six o’clock is six o’clock. During the 13th Conference of Weights and Measurements, we switched from using the position of the sun to mark time to using the vibrations of a cesium atom to mark time. It would seem that where the sun hangs in the sky is independent of where the hands on a clock rest. Yet, twice a year we shift our clocks so that the relationship between the sun and the hands can better reflect how we live.

We change our clocks twice a year, but why do we do it?

The theory behind DST is to maximize the amount of time people are up and doing things during daylight hours. Ben Franklin originally noticed the need for such a shift. Why sleep when the sun is up and be awake when it is down? It was a waste of lighting oil and candle wax. Today, we don’t typically light our rooms with oil lamps and candle wax. We burn electricity to light our homes. During this era of US history, time wasn’t uniform. The number of seconds in a minute was the same no matter where you went, but there was no standard time. It could be 6pm in one town and 7pm in another. This chaotic range of time continued into the railroad craze. One popular 35 mile route would require seven time changes.

If public transportation was to run properly, the nation needed to be on a standard time. Part of the efforts of early DST proponents was to streamline the various times in the US to set time zones as well as reduce energy demands.

We’re so accustomed to standard times now that we have a hard time conceptualizing and internalizing not having it. Everything from transportation to business transactions depend upon predictable and logical time zones. The concept of energy conservation remains. With the latest “go green” movement and our deeper understanding of carbon footprints, energy conservation plays a bigger role in our day to day lives.

Countries around the world observe DST. They call it “summer time” or “summer hours” in other countries. They all have the same goal: conserve energy and put the bulk of our active lives under the light of the sun. The observance of DST is not uniform around the world or in the US. Russia is normally one hour a head of standard time. During their DST observance, they are two hours ahead of standard time. In the USA, if a locality observes DST and how it observes DST varies from area to area. There’s a part of Indiana that doesn’t observe DST and that allowed the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) to conduct a natural study on the effects of DST.

NBER wanted to take a look at energy use in Indiana in the areas that observe Daylight Saving Time and compare that to the energy use of the areas that don’t observe DST. Their findings indicated that the areas that observe DST consume 1% more energy during DST than non-observant areas and during the fall months of DST that energy consumption rose to 2%-4%. They predict that the energy consumption during DST in other parts of the country is even higher. The reason for this is an energy trade off. The demand for energy in regards to lighting does down, but the demand for energy for heating and cooling goes up.

There have been other studies that look at the detriments of DST. Most of these negative effects are related to sleep deprivation in conjunction to the lost hour of sleep. In 1996, the New England Journal of Medicine reported there was an 8% increase in traffic accidents on the days following the lost hour. Follow-up studies did not support those initial findings. In 2000, Swedish researchers concluded that there were no detrimental effects in their society. In 2009, researchers connected to the University of Michigan took note of an increased number of workplace accidents on the Monday following the change to DST.

With all of these negatives, why do we still observe Daylight Savings Time?

There is contradictory data that indicates energy consumption goes down.

Science and “conflicting conclusions” are not strangers. More studies are needed to look at energy consumption during Daylight Saving Time before a definitive conclusion can be reached – and a decision regarding whether we should continue to use DST or not. Other studies indicate DST results in a decrease in traffic accidents and some forms of crime.

So, like it, love it, hate it, understand it, or be baffled by it, Daylight Savings Time is at least here to stay, for the time being (get it: time being?!).  But for how long?

We at OnlineClock.net hope that you’ll always remember to update your (offline) clocks and the batteries in your smoke detectors.

As we’ve mentioned previously here on our blog, our various clocks should automatically show you the correct time, even if your region has already changed its clocks due to Daylight Savings Time. How this works: our clocks use the time setting from your computer to show you the correct time, and most modern computers automatically update themselves and even adjust themselves for DST by connecting to Time Servers over the internet. So please, just continue to use our clocks, and you should simply be good to go!

We’ll leave the debates on the subject of whether or not we should continue to use Daylight Saving Time to the academics.

Tags: ben franklin, change our clocks, daylight saving time, dst, Fall Back, national bureau of economic research, nber, online alarm clocks, sleep deprivation, Spring Forward, standard time, summer hours, summer time, Time, time zones

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There’s a lot of information on the internet about time management. We’ve done a few blog posts about time management on this blog. There’s something that’s missing from a lot of these guidelines.

When you read the various time management guidelines on the net, there’s a lot of “do these steps to ensure you’re on time” stuff. It is all stuff we’ve heard a thousand times. What’s missing is a consideration of your personality type.

All of these tips and tricks are type A personality type traits. Type A personality types are already doing those things and they’re only reading the articles and tips as part of their need to over-achieve even more as chronic over-achievers, so we’ll leave them out of this discussion completely.

Type B personality types can’t take on type A traits without years of dedicated effort. The type B personalities who aren’t chronically late aren’t reading the articles either. The end result is that type B personalities who are chronically late end up trying to follow the wrong tips for their personality and they fail. People need to learn their personality type and how to live with it.

A lot of people consider chronic tardiness as sign of selfishness and disrespect. This might be the case with some people, but most often the person who is chronically late isn’t trying to be disrespectful. In the event that someone has a learning disability like dyscalculia, they lack an accurate internal clock.

The dictionary defines dyscalculia this way:

Impairment of the ability to solve mathematical problems, usually resulting from brain dysfunction.

But in truth, this impairment applies not just to math:  persons suffering from this problem also have big problems relating to the subjects of time, time management and simply being on time. They really can’t tell the difference between what five minutes and 30 minutes feels like. Type A or type B person with dyscalculia will most likely always struggle to be on time.

Time Management Tips for Type A People:

1. There’s nothing here for you, folks: you’re already doing so well with your lives as it is. We suggest you loosen up and enjoy your dominance! Go out and jog some laps.

Time Management Tips for People Suffering from Dyscalculia:

1. Always greatly overestimate travel time. A part of dyscalculia is a horrible sense of direction. Not just distinguishing between left and right, but also remembering travel routes. Until you are absolutely solid on how to get somewhere, double the travel time. You’ll end up with a lot of “hurry up and wait” scenarios, but that’s better than being late.
2. Set reminders in your PDA, desktop calendar, cell phone, and your watch. Anything device that can be used to set reminders, use it. The more reminders you have, the better off you’ll be. For rare or big events, set a reminder a week ahead of time, 24 hours before the event, two hours before you need to leave for the event, an hour before you need to leave for the event, fifteen minutes before you need to leave for the event, and finally five minutes before you need to leave. Start with all of those reminders and then weed out the ones you don’t need.
3. People with dyscalculia tend to underestimate the amount of time it takes them to shower, dress, and perform other basic tasks. Other people have internal clocks that help them keep track of how long they’ve spent on the one last quick thing they’re doing before they head out. People with dyscalculia cannot trust their internal clock. They must resist the urge to check their e-mail “real quick”. It never is “real quick” for them. This is a matter of self-discipline. E-mail, voice mail, and the like will be there when you’re not preparing to leave. It can wait.
4. People with dyscalculia will not read clocks the same way as other people. They tend to round to the nearest quarter if they’re dealing with an analog clock and often the numbers of a digital clock do not properly mentally register. Try to get into the habit of rounding forward instead of back and use your reminders to combat misreading a digital clock face.

Time Management Tips for Type B People:

1. Read up on dyscalculia. It was unknown for a very long time and many people never received a proper diagnosis. You might have it.
2. Type B people are often improperly accused of being lazy. They will work as hard as a type A person, but they don’t look as busy. While a type B person seems to be staring off into space or taking a coffee break, mentally they’re preparing for their next task. This mental preparation can make them late. Set reminders for events at least 15 minutes before you need to leave for an appointment. Set another alert five minutes before you need to leave to snap yourself out of any mental gymnastics.
3. Do not berate yourself for your procrastination. Many type B people aren’t procrastinators out of laziness. They simply work better with deadlines. They’ll spend weeks before a project banging their heads against a metaphorical wall and coming up empty handed. As time grows shorter, all of sudden ideas come to them and they can charge in and produce quality work. Work with this special ability. Give yourself a clock to race against. Using a countdown timer is useful for providing a visual representation of the remaining time to complete a task or project. You’ll also want to break up a project into several mini-projects (see: the Pomodoro technique for time management). Set self-imposed deadlines for these chunks of work. If self-imposed deadlines do not carry enough authority for you, ask a supervisor or friend to set deadlines for you. It’s also helpful to ask people to trick you. Ask them to tell you a project is due before it’s actually due. Do not let them tell you how much time they’ve shaved off the deadline.

Hopefully, these time management tips will help reduce any stress and anxiety in your life that’s rooted in chronic tardiness.

Of course, we hope that you’ll use our various online alarm clocks, timers, stopwatches and countdowns to help you better manage your time. They’re all free, so you truly have nothing to lose – other than your habit of being late!

Tags: chronic tardiness, dyscalculia, internal clock, on time, Time, time management, time management guidelines, time management tips, type a personality, type b personality

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Here at Online Clock we’re obsessed with all things associated with time. We like keep track of time, set alarms for special times, and record how much time has passed between when something starts and when it stops. We also like to keep tabs on the theoretical applications of time. One of the more interesting theoretical adventures of our old buddy time comes from Albert “it works in theory” Einstein in his theory of Special Relativity. The theory of Special Relativity allows for the mathematical possibility of time travel.

Time travel is a mainstay of science fiction and a foray into fun for people obsessed with time. Before we get into any kind of “time travel: fact or fiction” debate, it’s important to define at least one concept. What is time?

Time itself it difficult to define. Carl Sagan once said that time was “resistant to simple definition” and he was right. It’s easy to think time is what happens between the moments when the numbers on a clock change. We think of a second starting, fulfilling its fate, and then ending. We can watch a clock and observe seconds becoming minutes which turn into hours and so on.

The Theory of Special Relativity states that as an object approaches the speed of light, time slows down. At first that seems impossible. A second is a second is a second, right? Yes and no. A second is a second. A second doesn’t turn into a minute as one approaches the speed of light for the person with the second. Time is relative to where in the space-time continuum the person measuring the time is and where the time that is being measured is.

Let’s back up a second and take a moment to think about what a second actually is. When we were going through elementary school, we were taught that a day is the time it takes for the Earth to rotate on its axis. There were roughly 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute. Time was connected to the movement of astrological bodies. If you recall our blog post about atomic clocks, you’ll know that time is no longer based upon astrological bodies. Time is based upon the vibrations of a certain type of atom.

These atomic vibrations which serve as the true foundation of time change as one approaches the speed of light. The space shuttle doesn’t travel anywhere near the speed of light, but scientists have already noticed that–in relation to the people on Earth–astronauts travel several nanoseconds into the future.

Time travel is not metaphysical conjecture. It’s a scientifically noted fact. The trick is how to take this physics phenomenon and turn it into a real usable practical process. For that, we’d need a time machine.

An artist's depiction of a black hole.

The universe may have already provided us with time machines. Black holes, wormholes, and cosmic strings might turn out to be gateways to the past or future. Black holes are theorized to come in two different types. The Schwarzschild Black Hole is the most familiar. Gravity crushes all. The end. No time travel. The other type of black hole is the Schwarzschild Black Hole. This black hole does not end in a singularity. It ends in a rotating core that is like a column with a “white hole” on the other side. This black hole-“white hole” connection could be a conduit to time travel or a parallel universe.

Wormholes, also called Einstein-Rosen Bridges, work in a similar fashion. They are tunnels that pierce the fabric of the space-time continuum. If two twins hold onto opposite ends of a wormhole and one stands still while the other travels near the speed of light, the two twins could observe the different passages of time. The twin standing still would age while the twin moving would not. The twin standing still would experience several years as opposed to the twin moving. This is known as the Twin Paradox. Using the tunnel created by the wormhole, either twin could travel to the other time.

Wormholes could be used to traverse the universe more quickly than through conventional means. Traveling through a wormhole is like tunneling through a mountain instead of traveling around it.

Cosmic-strings can be likened to an intergalactic magnetic monorail. The “pearls” on the cosmic string contain a very powerful gravitational force. This force moves objects from “pearl” to “pearl” along the string. The force is so very strong that it warps the space-time continuum. Cosmic-strings also challenge one of Einstein’s “facts”. With this theory, the speed of light isn’t constant.

Give me Warp Speed, Scotty!

The science around time travel is all very theoretical. The science fiction that deals with time travel is much easier to understand once someone is willing to live with a willing suspension of disbelief. Gene Roddenberry seemed to have coined the concept of “slingshotting around the sun” to propel the Enterprise into the past or future. The episode “The City on the Edge of Forever” shows the burden of time travelers. The Edith Keeler had to die to restore the correct timeline.

HG Wells gave us a fantastical steampunk time machine in his work The Time Machine. This story broke open the concept of time travel and presented it to the general public. Ever since then, time travel has been a source of scientific theories and fantastical conjecture.

The debate is no longer an HG Wells “what if time travel was real” scenario, but a very real scientific “when will time travel be available to us” scenario.

So, to answer the question posed by the title of this blog post: yes, time travel will be for real, sometime sooner than we think!

Tags: alarms, albert einstein, black holes, Carl Sagan, cosmic strings, Einstein-Rosen Bridges, Gene Roddenberry, HG Wells, Schwarzschild Black Hole, space-time continuum, theory of relativity, Time, time machine, time travel, wormholes

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