Time : from Earth rotation to atomic physics

In the twenty-first century, we take the means to measure time for granted, without contemplating the sophisticated concepts on which our time scales are based. This volume presents the evolution of concepts of time and methods of time keeping up to the present day. It outlines the progression of time based on sundials, water clocks, and the Earth's rotation, to time measurement using pendulum clocks, quartz crystal clocks, and atomic frequency standards. Time scales created as a result of these improvements in technology and the development of general and special relativity are explained. This second edition has been updated throughout to describe twentieth- and twenty-first-century advances and discusses the redefinition of SI units and the future of UTC. A new chapter on time and cosmology has been added. This broad-ranging reference benefits a diverse readership, including historians, scientists, engineers, educators, and it is accessible to general readers. Time-pre 20th century -- Solar time -- Ephemerides -- Variable earth rotation -- Earth orientation -- Ephemeris time -- Relativity and time -- Time and cosmology -- Dynamical and coordinate time scales -- Clock developments -- Microwave atomic clocks -- Optical atomic standards -- Definition and role of a second -- International atomic time (TAI) -- Coordinated universal time (UTC) -- Time in the solar system -- Time and frequency transfer -- Modern earth orientation -- International activities -- Time applications -- Future of time keeping This accessible reference presents the evolution of concepts of time and methods of time keeping, for historians, scientists, engineers, and educators. The second edition has been updated throughout to describe twentieth- and twenty-first-century advances, progress in devices, time and cosmology, the redefinition of SI units, and the future of UTC.