[ARC5] NSS Cutler, ME

hwhall at compuserve.com hwhall at compuserve.com
Wed Nov 27 16:48:10 EST 2013


 There was a Scientific American issue a year or so ago in which an article indicated some physicists are considering whether the whole universe might be 'digital' - that is, that everything actually exists and changes in quantized states. I don't know how far out of the mainstream that thinking was, though.

Wayne

 WB4OGM



-----Original Message-----
From: Tim <timsamm at gmail.com>
To: jfor <jfor at quikus.com>
Cc: D C _Mac_ Macdonald <k2gkk at hotmail.com>; ARC-5 List <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wed, Nov 27, 2013 12:16 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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