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Splitting The Second: The Story of Atomic Time
Until the 1950s timekeeping was based on the apparent motion of the Sun that in turn reflected the rotation of the Earth on its axis. But the Earth does not turn smoothly. By the 1940s it was clear that the length of the day fluctuated unpredictably and with it the length of the second. Astronomers wanted to redefine the second in terms of the motions of the Moon and the planets. Physicists wanted to dispense with astronomical time altogether and define the second in terms of the fundamental properties of atoms.
The physicists won. The revolution began in June 1955 with the operation of the first successful atomic clock and was complete by October 1967 when the atomic second ousted the astronomical second as the international unit of time.
Splitting the Second: The Story of Atomic Time presents the story of this revolution, explaining how atomic clocks work, how more than 200 of them are used to form the world's time, and why we need leap seconds. The book illustrates how accurate time is distributed around the world and what it is used for. It concludes with a look at the future of timekeeping.
The physicists won. The revolution began in June 1955 with the operation of the first successful atomic clock and was complete by October 1967 when the atomic second ousted the astronomical second as the international unit of time.
Splitting the Second: The Story of Atomic Time presents the story of this revolution, explaining how atomic clocks work, how more than 200 of them are used to form the world's time, and why we need leap seconds. The book illustrates how accurate time is distributed around the world and what it is used for. It concludes with a look at the future of timekeeping.
- GenresScienceNonfiction
199 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2000
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33 people want to read
About the author
Tony Jones
135 books112 followersTony Jones is the author of The God of Wild Places: Rediscovering the Divine in the Untamed Outdoors (2024) and an award-winning outdoors writer. He’s written a dozen books, including Did God Kill Jesus? and The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life. Tony hosts the Reverend Hunter Podcast, and teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary. He served as a consultant on the television show, The Path, and he owns an event planning company, Crucible Creative. He holds an A.B. from Dartmouth College, an M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. Tony is married, has three children, and lives in Edina, Minnesota.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 10, 2016
A brilliant account of one of the most central and fascinating tenets of our existence , time . I have been into books about time , but nowhere has the topic been handled with such breadth and clarity that a scrupulous reading will enable even a layman to follow . And there is an entire section , 1001 applications of atomic time , to dispel the doubts of those of us who might look upon it as too esoteric a topic .
The historical astronomical account of time keeping is very good , but the biggest catch comes in the 1960s when finally in the spirit of Bob Dylan , the times change and timekeeping passes finally into the hands of physicists . Its actually interesting to see in the beginning that no less than 13 Nobels in Physics were given for time keeping . The creativity and ingenuity that leads to creation of atomic clocks and correlation with Ephimeral Time is simply marvellous .
The section that describes the networking of the 260 odd atomic clocks
that along with GPS and satellite transmission keep the world time keeping mechanism ticking is fascinating . And to realise than no less than 6 of the 7 basic units derive from the accuracy of time clocks just shows the wide encompass of this monumental saga .
And Jones concludes by showing us the future , which continues to baffle with efforts for even higher accuracies and stabilities in full flow . Specially interesting is the Long project to build a clock for 10000 years to take our heritage into the future generations . Jones ends with a chuckle by commenting in an alternate history spirit , speculating on an earlier discovery of pulsars and perhaps hence time keeping still being in the hands of astronomers. !
The historical astronomical account of time keeping is very good , but the biggest catch comes in the 1960s when finally in the spirit of Bob Dylan , the times change and timekeeping passes finally into the hands of physicists . Its actually interesting to see in the beginning that no less than 13 Nobels in Physics were given for time keeping . The creativity and ingenuity that leads to creation of atomic clocks and correlation with Ephimeral Time is simply marvellous .
The section that describes the networking of the 260 odd atomic clocks
that along with GPS and satellite transmission keep the world time keeping mechanism ticking is fascinating . And to realise than no less than 6 of the 7 basic units derive from the accuracy of time clocks just shows the wide encompass of this monumental saga .
And Jones concludes by showing us the future , which continues to baffle with efforts for even higher accuracies and stabilities in full flow . Specially interesting is the Long project to build a clock for 10000 years to take our heritage into the future generations . Jones ends with a chuckle by commenting in an alternate history spirit , speculating on an earlier discovery of pulsars and perhaps hence time keeping still being in the hands of astronomers. !
September 26, 2023
https://timothyrice.org/splittingsecond/
Finally! A science book that’s actually about science! Reading this book will teach you about how something actually works!
Splitting the Second tells the history of the last 80 years of scientific timekeeping. Beginning with a summary of the most precise timekeeping methods available in the early 20th century, it goes on to explain the attempts by the scientific community to firmly establish a more robust standard, eventually culminating in adoption of the atomic clock.
If you’ve ever asked yourself “how do these atomic clocks work and why are they using cesium?” this is the book for you. If you’ve ever wondered “why do we even need a clock that only loses one second in 300 billion years, isn’t that a bit excessive?” Then this is the book for you! If you’ve ever been struck trying to figure out how to take that very precise time calculated by your national laboratory and transfer it to your workshop, accounting for the various errors created by prorogation delay and special/general relativity, then guess what? This is the book for you!
Splitting the Second beautifully threads the needle between historical narrative and physics textbook. It precisely recounts the history, problems, progress, and future of scientific timekeeping without ever seeming overwhelming. Its only flaw is it was written almost 25 years ago and doesn’t cover the last quarter century of progress in the field.
Recommended to any scientifically minded person who enjoys the pleasure of finding things out.
Finally! A science book that’s actually about science! Reading this book will teach you about how something actually works!
Splitting the Second tells the history of the last 80 years of scientific timekeeping. Beginning with a summary of the most precise timekeeping methods available in the early 20th century, it goes on to explain the attempts by the scientific community to firmly establish a more robust standard, eventually culminating in adoption of the atomic clock.
If you’ve ever asked yourself “how do these atomic clocks work and why are they using cesium?” this is the book for you. If you’ve ever wondered “why do we even need a clock that only loses one second in 300 billion years, isn’t that a bit excessive?” Then this is the book for you! If you’ve ever been struck trying to figure out how to take that very precise time calculated by your national laboratory and transfer it to your workshop, accounting for the various errors created by prorogation delay and special/general relativity, then guess what? This is the book for you!
Splitting the Second beautifully threads the needle between historical narrative and physics textbook. It precisely recounts the history, problems, progress, and future of scientific timekeeping without ever seeming overwhelming. Its only flaw is it was written almost 25 years ago and doesn’t cover the last quarter century of progress in the field.
Recommended to any scientifically minded person who enjoys the pleasure of finding things out.
August 10, 2013
A month after I was born, in October 1967, the way we measure time changed fundamentally when astronomic time was replaced with atomic time as the world's timekeeping standard. This book tells the story of the incredible complexities of keeping track of time on a global scale, and how the atomic age brought about new realities, including atomic clocks. Modern clocks can now measure time so precisely that relativistic effects can be easily observed and must be accounted for in global timekeeping. You will never look at a clock the same way again.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews