The History of Time: From Sundials to Atomic Clocks
Episode description
Time feels natural, but the way we measure it is entirely human-made. From Mesopotamian star charts and Egyptian solar calendars to Roman reforms, medieval clock towers, and modern atomic precision, this episode explores how we constructed the framework of time itself.
3 Timeless Takeaways:
- How ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt laid the foundations for calendars and timekeeping.
- Why the Babylonians chose base-60 and how it still shapes our clocks today.
- How mechanical clocks, trains, and atomic physics transformed time into the precise system we live by.
Resources & Links Mentioned:
- More on the Sexagesimal System: My eponymic contribution to Sexagesimal math - Math! Science! History!™
- Leap Year, Caesar's Propaganda, and a New Calendar: Leap Year, Caesar's propaganda, and a new calendar - Math! Science! History!™
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on Atomic Time: https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division
🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com 📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h
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- Music: All music is public domain and has no copyright and rights reserved.
- Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers
- Travelling and Discovering by Musinova from Pixabay
- Lake of Light by Vinsvept from Pixabay
- Orlando Gibbons (bap.1583-1625) - Galliard à3, for Treble & Bass Viols with Great Bass,
- Dr. Phillip W. Serna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Deafening Bounce Groove by Rockot from Pixabay
Until next time, carpe diem!