Units and Measurement

Time Measurement

Time measurement is difficult to work on and is a challenging one to measure day, hour, and minute. The forefather observed that certain events don’t change such as change of seasons, setting, and rising of the Sun. There were first efforts that were done to measure time. Further, the first device that was produced for measuring time during the day was the sundial.

time measurement

Introduction to Time Measurement

Time is a continued and indefinite process that does not stop. We consider it an irreversible process regardless of any factorial changes. Moreover, we cannot neglect the gravity of the role of time in any scientific formulations as it plays a predominant role in determining the end factual result. However, in the majority of the scenario, a constant value of time makes the analytical process easier.

The Relation between Time and Periodic Motion

Periodic motion is the motion of a specific object that repeats itself after a certain time. The time which a substance takes for repeating the movement is a period. The number of repetitions of movement every second is frequency. Further, we can measure the frequency in hertz.

The periodic happening or motion like sunset or sunrise comes in use to measure time. Other periodic movements for measurement of time are moon phases, change of seasons, and star movement in the sky, and water flow. Moreover, it is quite important to observe that the moon takes around 29.5 days for alteration in phase from a full moon into the next phase. Thus, the periodic movement was the natural manner of measurement of the month.

The alteration in seasons is the beginning and end of the year. Thus, time measurement is quite important as people depend on rain for raising their crops. However, with advanced technology, scientists are developing more devices for measuring time.

Unit of Time

time measurement

The SI unit of time is “Seconds”.

Seconds further break down into numerous segments to make it easy to calculate time.

  • 60 seconds= 1 minute
  • 60 minutes = 3600 seconds = 1 hr
  • 24 hours = 1 day = 86,400 seconds
  • 365 days = 1 year

Ancient Time Measurement Devices

Time plays an important role in human existence. We are living in an era of watches and clocks. In ancient time, time was measured in various ways. Moreover, the natural phenomenon was coming in use for measuring time like sticks and mountains. Therefore, we will discuss five popular ancient times measuring equipment.

Sundials- They came in use in 1500 B.C for dividing the time interval between sunrise and sunset. It works on the principle of movement of shadows.

Sandglass- The conical glasses connect vertically via a narrow neck. The use of this device is quite accurate for measuring time.

Water clock or candle clock- The device for time measurement happens by looking at the water flow from one container to another. The candle was denoted with numbers and melting wax denotes the period.

Pendulum Galileo Galilei develops the concept of the pendulum. The motion of the pendulum comes in use for measuring the time.

Quartz- It came in the 1930s when Albert Einstein proposed the theory of relativity.

At the current time, a piezoelectric crystal, quartz, come in use for time measurement. The atomic inventions and lasers come in use to measure time.

Range of Time

Time is an important component to determine the values of force exerted and motion. Further, the time when dispersed effects live in a distinctive manner that is not visible to the naked eye. Based on the theoretical principles of Quantum Physics, the time has a specific range that remains constant for every object.

FAQ on Time Measurement

Question 1: How do we measure time?

Answer 1: We measure time in two ways:

  1. Atomic Clock – the difference in the periodic vibrations within two atoms come in use to measure time
  2. Radioactive dating – Generally using the carbon dating method, we calculate the age of fossils and rocks

Question 2: Do we count time or measure it?

Answer 2: We count time. To explain it clearly we can state that we use a clock to count the interval of the passage of time accurately.

Question 3: Who invented time?

Answer 3: Exactly nothing is known about when the time was invented. However, ancient records state that Sundials were used as early as 1500 BC in ancient Egypt to replicate the working of a modern-day clock.

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