The Search for the Perfect Clock

[Nathan, First Tiger]

Read this cool article on NPR about a clock that can be accurate for billions of years. Or is it?

Who knew time keeping was so tricky?

http://www.npr.org/2014/11/03/3610698...

[Lincoln, Temporal Jester]

That's crazy....so sleeping in my basement makes me get up earlier than my roommates who are sleeping on the third floor...If we have breakfast together in the kitchen we are time traveling?

My nephew posted a picture of the most accurate watch in the world...

[Amy, Queen of Time]

Perhaps your book's chronometer works something like that, taking into consideration your distance from the earth's crust, etc.? (P.S. I won't take a drink if you answer that question.)

I love this part from the article:
"In fact, this knot of wires and lasers actually is the clock. It's spread out on a giant table, parts of it wrapped in what appears to be tinfoil. Tinfoil? 'That's research grade tinfoil,' says Travis Nicholson..."

[Nathan, First Tiger]

Amy wrote:Perhaps your book's chronometer works something like that, taking into consideration your distance from the earth's crust, etc.?

I wish I had the forethought to put some strontium atom compensators in the chronometers. I suppose there could be some in there. I haven't said there aren't...

I definitely believe time travelers would need to establish a universal standard time. From the sound of this article, that would need to be a system of clocks in outer space so they wouldn't be thrown off by gravity. If all the time travelers set their respective devices from that time, it would save them a lot of confusion. Definite story fodder for future writing. Someone has probably got something like this in use in their stories already somewhere. I haven't run across it yet, but it's only a matter of time... :)

[Craig]

When I listened to this story I had one overriding question. How do you calibrate the most accurate clock? Isn't the calibration limited to the accuracy of the device you use to calibrate?

[Howard]

Chris #6

Dead on, for several reasons.

Thanks for the memories.

[Lincoln, Temporal Jester]

Paul wrote: "Lincoln I like your nephew's watch! I'm guessing though it's correct only on Mondays if he accidentally wears it upside down!"

LOL I hadn't thought of it that way Paul!

[Michele]

Nathan wrote: "Read this cool article on NPR about a clock that can be accurate for billions of years. Or is it?"

Ok, that very nearly made my head explode. What the what? Measure gravity with a clock? And what good is a clock that can't tell time? Doesn't that make it, well, not a clock?

I need a drink. Thank god it's always happy hour somewhere lol