Calendars – keeping track of time
Further Reading
November/December 1999, pages 26-28
2000 and all that (by David Bromage)
The history of our calendar.
4 February 2009, pages 39-41
A clock more accurate than time itself (by Matthew Chalmers)
Reviews developments in precision time keeping using atomic clocks.
20 December 2008, page 10
Calls to scrap the 'leap second' grow (by Devin Powell)
Explains the controversy surrounding the addition of the leap second to clocks every few years.
23 December 2006, pages 40-41
When a calendar finally settles down (by Chris Turney)
Reviews the historical development of the calendar.
18 May 2005, page 25
The most accurate clock of all time (by Paul Marks)
If time waits for no man, then neither does human ingenuity in measuring its passing.
22 November 2003, page 30
Time warp (by Stephen Battersby)
Describes the technical problems caused by leap seconds.
13 July 2001
World's most accurate clock created (by Eugenie Samuel)
Reports on a more accurate optical atomic clock used for satellite navigation.
19 December 1998, pages 74-75
The magic clock (by Sean Roberts)
Describes a large clockwork device that will keep time for the next 10,000 years.
April 2008, pages 52-59
Rulers of light (by Steven Cundiff, Jun Ye and John Hall)
Explores a new kind of laser light and its applications, including a more precise atomic clock.
5 March 2007
Ask an expert
Answers the question, ‘Why is a minute divided into 60 seconds, an hour into 60 minutes, yet there are only 24 hours in a day?’
14 November 2005
Wait a second (by Wendy Grossman)
Describes the adjustment to time to synchronise the Earth's rotation with calendar.
Page updated March 2009.