[ARC5] NSS Cutler, ME

Michael A. Bittner mmab at cox.net
Wed Nov 27 15:18:48 EST 2013


The present goes by very fast.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Tim 
  To: jfor at quikus.com 
  Cc: D C _Mac_ Macdonald ; ARC-5 List 
  Sent: Wednesday, November 27, 2013 12:15 PM
  Subject: Re: [ARC5] NSS Cutler, ME


  HaHa - That's what I was getting at....Does time "arrive" in quanta?  Are
  there pre, present and post quanta?
  Time for a beer......


  On Wed, Nov 27, 2013 at 11:35 AM, J. Forster <jfor at quikus.com> wrote:

  > 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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  >
  >
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