Time's Pendulum: From Sundials to Atomic Clocks, the Fascinating History of Tfrom Sundials to Atomic Clocks, the Fascinating History of (Harvest Book) - Softcover

Barnett, Jo Ellen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0156006499 ISBN 13: 9780156006491

Publisher: Harvest, 1999

Synopsis

A perfect balance of science, history, and sociology, Time's Pendulum traces the important developments in humankind's epic quest to measure the hours, days, and years with accuracy, and how our concept of time has changed with each new technological breakthrough. Written in an easy-to-follow chronological format and illustrated with entertaining anecdotes, author Jo Ellen Barnett's history of timekeeping covers everything from the earliest sundials and water clocks, to the pendulum and the more recent advances of battery-powered, quartz-regulated wrist watches and the powerful radioactive "clock," which loses only a few billionths of a second per day, making it nearly ten billion times more accurate than the pendulum clock.A tour of the discoveries and the inventors who endeavored to chart and understand time, Time's Pendulum also explains how each new advance gradually transformed our perception of the world.

About this title

Review

"With Time's Pendulum, Barnett has shown us that there is a mystery and a great story to be found in the very time that flows past us and which rules our lives. There is no need for wild speculation. Time's Pendulum is history. In both senses of an ambiguous phrase, it is the history of our time."-New Scientist
"The story of time and its machines is long, but indisputably interesting. [Barnett's book ]. . . is entertaining and worth a few hours' reading time."-The San Diego Union-Tribune

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvest
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0156006499
• ISBN 13: 9780156006491
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 354