Jake Jackson's Blog
May 16, 2023
M.R. James and his Long, Ghostly Shadows
M.R. James (1862-1936) is widely considered to be one of the greatest ghost story writers in the English language. James’ stories are characterised by their subtle, understated horror, their attention to historical detail, and their emphasis on the psychological effects of the supernatural on his characters. His work has influenced generations of horror writers, including H.P. Lovecraft, Ramsey Campbell, and ...
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March 21, 2023
What is Time? The Standardisation of Time
The adoption of a single time standard in 1884 brought timekeeping into a new era of simultaneous communication. (This is the ninth post of Time and Clocks, the thread that follows Time and Calendars.) The Greenwich Observatory The Royal Observatory at Greenwich, London was established in 1675 by King Charles II and from those first years it has remained a ...
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March 14, 2023
What is Time? The Race for Accuracy
The last 150 years or so have seen the rapid acceleration of technological advance mirrored by the production of ever more accurate clocks. (This is the eighth post of Time and Clocks, the thread that follows Time and Calendars.) Master and Slave Clocks The discovery of electricity was inevitably harnessed by clockmakers. The electric master and slave clocks in the ...
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March 7, 2023
What is Time? The Pendulum Clock
Until the middle of the seventeenth century, clocks did not need a minute or seconds hand because they were only accurate to the hour. (This is the seventh post of Time and Clocks, the thread that follows Time and Calendars.) In 1582 CE, in the early years of the scientific revolution of European civilisation Galileo is thought to have studied ...
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March 1, 2023
What is Time? Spring-loaded and Fantastic Clocks
Developments from mechanical to finger-ring mounted clocks took only 200 years of refinement and craftsmanship. (This is the sixth post of Time and Clocks, the thread that follows Time and Calendars.) Mechanical clocks were large and heavy, made of brass or iron and very expensive to build. As interest in them increased and as technical skills developed, it became possible ...
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February 21, 2023
What is Time? Mechanical Clocks
The emergence of mechanical devices as a means of telling the time was the start of a revolution in timekeeping, relieving the general public from reliance on freezing waterclocks or cloud-obstructed sundials. (This is the fifth post of Time and Clocks, the thread that follows Time and Calendars.) Europe emerged from its Dark Ages, with stability and order spread throughout ...
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February 15, 2023
What is Time? Other Simple Clocks
Human ingenuity is evidenced by the many different methods used to measure time, before the development of springs and pendulums. (This is the fourth post of Time and Clocks, the thread that follows Time and Calendars.) In the Dark Ages of Western Europe, many of the monasteries isolated from the scholarship and learning of the Arabian Peninsula and the Asia ...
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February 7, 2023
What is Time? Waterclocks
Waterclocks represented a step away from reliance on celestial bodies and are still in use today. (This is the third post of Time and Clocks, the thread that follows Time and Calendars.) Waterclocks classically have a hole at the bottom or near the base of a vessel which starts the day full, ending it empty. As the Egyptians discovered, to ...
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January 31, 2023
What is Time? Sunclocks
The use of the sun to approximate the time is as old as recorded time itself and there are many different methods of using the shadow created by the sun. (This is the second post of Time and Clocks, the thread that follows Time and Calendars.) The first measure of the hours was a simple stick. The Babylonians, in the ...
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January 24, 2023
What is Time? Clocks and Timepieces
Any clock must have a steady repetitive action and be able to display the units of its progress. The later history of clocks is characterised by the determined search of astronomers and mathematicians to measure these units more accurately. (This is the first post of Time and Clocks, the thread that follows Time and Calendars.) A Quick history of Clocks ...
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