{"id":451,"date":"2009-01-23T09:00:52","date_gmt":"2009-01-23T08:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/?p=451"},"modified":"2016-04-08T16:04:54","modified_gmt":"2016-04-08T16:04:54","slug":"atomic-clocks-a-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/atomic-clocks-a-history\/","title":{"rendered":"A History of Atomic Clocks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The atomic clock<\/a> is the culmination of mankind\u2019s ability to keep time that has spanned several millennia. Humans have always been preoccupied with keeping track of time ever since early man noticed the regularity of the celestial bodies.<\/p>\n

The sun, moon, stars and planets soon became the basis for out timescales with periods of time such as years, months, days and hours based solely on the regulation of the Earth\u2019s rotation.<\/p>\n

This worked for thousands of years as a reliable guide to how much time has past but over the last few centuries humans have strode to find even more reliable methods for keeping track of time. Whilst the Sun and celestial bodies were an affective way sundials didn\u2019t work on cloudy days and as the days and night s altered during the year only noon (when the sun is at its highest) could be reasonably relied upon.<\/p>\n

The first foray into an accurate timepiece that was not reliant on celestial bodies and was not a simple time (such as a candle taper or water clock) but actually told time over a prolonged period was the mechanical clock.<\/p>\n

These first devices dating as far back as the twelfth century were crude mechanisms using a verge and foliot escapement (a gear and lever) to control the ticks of the clock. After a few centuries and a myriad of designs the mechanical clock took its next step forward with the pendulum. The pendulum gave clocks their first true accuracy as it controlled with more precision the ticks of the clock.<\/p>\n

However, it wasn\u2019t until the twentieth century when clocks entered the electronic age did they become truly accurate. The digital and electronic clock had its ticks controlled by using the oscillation of a quartz crystal (its changed energy state when a current is based through) which proved so accurate that rarely a second a week was lost.<\/p>\n

The development of atomic clocks<\/a> in the 1950\u2019s used the oscillation of a single atom which generates over 9 billion ticks a second and can maintain precise time for millions of years without losing a second. These clocks now form the basis of our timescales with the entire world synchronised to them using NTP servers<\/a>, ensuring wholly accurate and reliable time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The atomic clock is the culmination of mankind\u2019s ability to keep time that has spanned several millennia. Humans have always been preoccupied with keeping track of time ever since early man noticed the regularity of the celestial bodies. The sun, moon, stars and planets soon became the basis for out timescales with periods of time…<\/p>\n

Continue reading <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,12,13,1],"tags":[19,20,207,22,23,25,26,27,28,204,29,30,34,35],"class_list":["post-451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atomic-clocks","category-chronology","category-time-server","category-time-synchronisation","category-uncategorized","tag-gps-ntp-server","tag-gps-ntp-time-server","tag-gps-time-server","tag-linux-ntp","tag-linux-time-server","tag-network-time-server","tag-ntp-clock","tag-ntp-gps-server","tag-ntp-gps-time-server","tag-ntp-server-2","tag-ntp-servers","tag-ntp-time-server","tag-windows-ntp-server","tag-windows-server-2008"],"yoast_head":"\nA History of Atomic Clocks - Galleon Systems<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/atomic-clocks-a-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A History of Atomic Clocks - Galleon Systems\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The atomic clock is the culmination of mankind\u2019s ability to keep time that has spanned several millennia. Humans have always been preoccupied with keeping track of time ever since early man noticed the regularity of the celestial bodies. The sun, moon, stars and planets soon became the basis for out timescales with periods of time…Continue reading\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/atomic-clocks-a-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Galleon Systems\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-01-23T08:00:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-04-08T16:04:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Richard N Williams\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@galleonsystems\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GalleonSystems\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Richard N Williams\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/atomic-clocks-a-history\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/atomic-clocks-a-history\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Richard N Williams\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/38013a1dcb0021026d59957e276aa3cd\"},\"headline\":\"A History of Atomic Clocks\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-01-23T08:00:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-04-08T16:04:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/atomic-clocks-a-history\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":384,\"keywords\":[\"gps ntp server\",\"gps ntp time server\",\"gps time server\",\"linux ntp\",\"linux time server\",\"network time server\",\"ntp clock\",\"ntp gps server\",\"ntp gps time server\",\"ntp server\",\"ntp servers\",\"ntp time server\",\"windows ntp server\",\"windows server 2008\"],\"articleSection\":[\"atomic clocks\",\"chronology\",\"time server\",\"Time Synchronisation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/atomic-clocks-a-history\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/atomic-clocks-a-history\\\/\",\"name\":\"A History of Atomic Clocks - Galleon Systems\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-01-23T08:00:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-04-08T16:04:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/38013a1dcb0021026d59957e276aa3cd\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/atomic-clocks-a-history\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/atomic-clocks-a-history\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/atomic-clocks-a-history\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A History of Atomic Clocks\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Galleon Systems\",\"description\":\"Sales: 0121 608 7230\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/38013a1dcb0021026d59957e276aa3cd\",\"name\":\"Richard N Williams\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/01862680879ba669edd67af1e800a1061bb93933cf7fe58c48043fb7d52911bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/01862680879ba669edd67af1e800a1061bb93933cf7fe58c48043fb7d52911bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/01862680879ba669edd67af1e800a1061bb93933cf7fe58c48043fb7d52911bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Richard N Williams\"},\"description\":\"Richard N Williams is a technical author and a specialist in the NTP Server and Time Synchronisation industry.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/galleonsystems\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A History of Atomic Clocks - Galleon Systems","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/atomic-clocks-a-history\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A History of Atomic Clocks - Galleon Systems","og_description":"The atomic clock is the culmination of mankind\u2019s ability to keep time that has spanned several millennia. Humans have always been preoccupied with keeping track of time ever since early man noticed the regularity of the celestial bodies. The sun, moon, stars and planets soon became the basis for out timescales with periods of time…Continue reading","og_url":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/atomic-clocks-a-history\/","og_site_name":"Galleon Systems","article_published_time":"2009-01-23T08:00:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-04-08T16:04:54+00:00","author":"Richard N Williams","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@galleonsystems","twitter_site":"@GalleonSystems","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Richard N Williams","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/atomic-clocks-a-history\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/atomic-clocks-a-history\/"},"author":{"name":"Richard N Williams","@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/38013a1dcb0021026d59957e276aa3cd"},"headline":"A History of Atomic Clocks","datePublished":"2009-01-23T08:00:52+00:00","dateModified":"2016-04-08T16:04:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/atomic-clocks-a-history\/"},"wordCount":384,"keywords":["gps ntp server","gps ntp time server","gps time server","linux ntp","linux time server","network time server","ntp clock","ntp gps server","ntp gps time server","ntp server","ntp servers","ntp time server","windows ntp server","windows server 2008"],"articleSection":["atomic clocks","chronology","time server","Time Synchronisation"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/atomic-clocks-a-history\/","url":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/atomic-clocks-a-history\/","name":"A History of Atomic Clocks - Galleon Systems","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-01-23T08:00:52+00:00","dateModified":"2016-04-08T16:04:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/38013a1dcb0021026d59957e276aa3cd"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/atomic-clocks-a-history\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/atomic-clocks-a-history\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/atomic-clocks-a-history\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A History of Atomic Clocks"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/","name":"Galleon Systems","description":"Sales: 0121 608 7230","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/38013a1dcb0021026d59957e276aa3cd","name":"Richard N Williams","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/01862680879ba669edd67af1e800a1061bb93933cf7fe58c48043fb7d52911bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/01862680879ba669edd67af1e800a1061bb93933cf7fe58c48043fb7d52911bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/01862680879ba669edd67af1e800a1061bb93933cf7fe58c48043fb7d52911bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Richard N Williams"},"description":"Richard N Williams is a technical author and a specialist in the NTP Server and Time Synchronisation industry.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/galleonsystems"],"url":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1626,"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions\/1626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}