[ARC5] NSS Cutler, ME

[J. Forster]

If you mean is time quantized, ask Stephen Hawkings. He's about the only
one who can answer that VERY deep question.

-John

===================





> Good stuff Roy - Thanks!
> Question:  Is time digital or analog?
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 27, 2013 at 11:06 AM, Roy Morgan <k1lky68 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> On Nov 27, 2013, at 11:57 AM, D C _Mac_ Macdonald <k2gkk at hotmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > Were time signals (ala WWV) once sent from a "Naval Observatory?"  Was
>> that once the location of WWV?
>>
>> I’m not sure about radio transmissions from the Naval Observatory.  It’s
>> possible that time signals from the Observatory went by wire to the
>> NBS/WWV
>> site which was not far away at that time.  As I have been writing this,
>> Richard reports hearing time signals on NSS from Annapolis.  Most likely
>> there was a wire from the DC observatory headquarters over to Annapolis.
>>  And Mac reports hearing the voice time announcement. To See USNO time:
>>
>> Main Navy Time link:
>> http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/  Click “Time” for the choices
>>
>> Simple web page numerical display:
>> http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/simpletime.html
>>
>> Animated GIF window:
>> http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/what1.html
>>
>> The voice by telephone service:
>> Time Voice Announcer, Washington, DC:           202-762-1401 &
>> 202-762-1069
>> Time Voice Announcer, Colorado Springs, CO:     719-567-6742
>>
>> The Naval Observatory is in two places in DC.  The headquarters is
>> within
>> sight of the Lincoln Memorial at the west end of the Mall.  The
>> mechanical
>> clocks for Navy standard time were there, and the more modern
>> physics-based
>> ones may still be.  The astronomical observatory was a few miles (maybe
>> 4
>> miles) off to the North, still within the District of Columbia I think.
>>  The US Vice Presidents residence is there.  There the now-ancient 24
>> (?)
>> inch refractor telescope is still in operating condition, and the
>> “Transit
>> Telescope” is also.  This latter was still in use in the late 80’s when
>> I
>> visited there.  It is precisely fixed in rotation in east-west angle but
>> moves easily in elevation.  We watched the observer lie underneath it on
>> a
>> mechanics-like dolly and swing the telescope to watch a star transit the
>> scope’s center line, and push a button at the right instant.  That time
>> mark, combined with much accurate calculation, and many more like it,
>> establishes the sidereal time.  As I understand it, sidereal time
>> wanders a
>> bit with respect to UTC (or NIST-A) time but is still used for some
>> things.
>>  More info is at:   http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/sidereal.html       “

>> Astronomers use local sidereal time because it corresponds to the
>> coordinate right ascension of a celestial body that is presently on the
>> local meridian.” One of the very early transit telescopes was/is located
>> in
>> now-suburban Maryland in Rockville.  The building is still there, but I
>> don’t know if the instrument is.
>>
>> The division of responsibility for time keeping is roughly:  Military
>> purposes, Naval Observatory.  Civilian and international purposes:
>> NIST/WWV.  Naturally, the two organizations coordinate with each other.
>>
>> During  the early years, the WWV time broadcasts came from Greenbelt,
>> MD,
>> just to the NE of the District.  That all moved to Boulder CO, (in the
>> early 60’s I think).  I remember hearing the time broadcasts from
>> Greenbelt, and have visited the Boulder facility.  At the time of the
>> visit, there were three Master Clocks, made by HP I think, in operation
>> I
>> think there is a compare and vote system to eliminate one if it messes
>> up.
>>  the voice that announces the time (and other things) is now solid state
>> memory/playback, but it used to be a drum magnetic recorder that was
>> played
>> automatically.
>>
>> The NIST Time and Frequency Division is part of the NIST Physics
>> Laboratory.  The research and development of newer time standards goes
>> on
>> at Boulder.  When I was there they had become able to get the “Fountain
>> Clock” to operate for some 20 minutes before it quit.  No doubt by now
>> the’ve made considerable progress.  The “Fountain Clock” was calculated
>> to
>> develop an error of a second in some gad zillions of years.  It’s quite
>> possible that we won’t be here to notice the error.
>>
>> Time is a most interesting topic.
>>
>> Roy
>>
>> Roy Morgan
>> RoyMorgan at alum.mit.edu
>> K1LKY Since 1958
>>
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