Evening Star Newspaper, December 29, 1929, Page 87

Master Clocks Start the NNation’s New Year THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C.fi. DECEMBER 29, 1929. T o-the-Minute Accuracy Calls for Intricate ‘ Process of Timekeeping—New System of “World Time” Of fering Many Advan- tages Is Being Considered. BY WARE TORREY. IME, in terms of minutes, hours, days or years, is commonly taken for granted as a fixed part of life. The hour the clock says is simply considered the time; New Year day seems the nat- wural and absolute beginning of the year. In reality time is an unbroken stretch, which man has marked off in logical but arbitrary divisions. New Year day, for us, is a division of the calendar. There is no seasonal change to make it fitting. The year could begin, as ap- propriately for any division made by nature, in December or July. Some primitive people have no beginning of the year, others start the list of months with the first day of the dry season, rainy season or harvest. Tribes of American Indians have New Year festivals at harvest time in August, -or at the time of the first snowfall. Eskimos begin the year when the sun has reached the lowest position, at the Winter solstice. The beginning of the year in our sense, however, is merely the starting point of the series of calendar days. When the calendar was in the process of regularization, the month with which reckoning was begun became auto- matically the first of the year. This beginning point, like other questions of time, is linked with observation of the stars. ’l‘HE time that we pian our lives by, the ordi- nary, familiar time that is used for boiling eges and catching trains, is calculated directly from the stars. Clocks and watches all over the country are checked by the radio time signals sent out from the Naval Observatory in ‘Washington and the standard time kept by the observatory is in turn checked by sideral or star time. Three master clocks are kept at the observa- tory in an underground vault, under uniform temperature and air pressure, never disturbed except for repairs. These keep sideral time. By electricity the time is transmitted from them to the “time room” from which the radio signals are sent. The time signals are automatically sent out by transmitting clocks. The time registered by the transmitting clocks is compared with the recording of the master clocks and with Green- wich time, Radio dashes are sent out on each second, for five minutes, at 2:55 am., 11:55 am. and 9:55 p.m. Eastern standard time. The twenty- ninth second and the fiftieth to sixtieth seconds are left blank to identify the end of the half minute or minute. The signals are sometimes thought of as eoming from Arlington or other radio stations. In reality, they come directly from the time room at the observatory. The transmitting clock sending the signals stretches a long tele- graphic arm to Arlington and Annapolis and the two radio stations are under temporary automatic control. Four other stations, at Great Lakes, Key West, New Orleans and San Diego, transmit the Naval Observatory signals, received through Western Union lines. The observatory signals were first sent out 80 that navigators could check their chronom- eters before leaving harbor. Now they are used all over the world. Byrd receives them at Little America and they are used by surveyors in Alaska. THERE are three kinds of time in use, or . three ways of measuring time. Sun time, or local apparent solar time is told by the posi- tion of the sun in relation to the earth. This can be read by sundials. But because of the frregularity of the earth’s motion in its orbit, apparent solar days vary in length and thus the time is not constant. Sideral time is used by astronomers and is an accurate basis for checking. The exact times at which certain stars are in certain positions is observed; the correct time of pass- ing those positions is known by previous rec- ords and calculations; thus comparison be- tween the known time and the time recorded by the clock during the observation shows any error of the clock. Sidereal time may be con- sidered the perfect abstract time, because the stars are so many light years away that their variation cannot be detected. The time that is in ordinary use is mean solar time. This is an average time, used so that all the hours can be precisely the same length. There is a variation between apparent tinrze and mean time, that at its widest point is 15 minutes. What is generally considered time, then, is neither measurement by the stars nor accurate measurement by the sun; it is a popular rendering of time, averaged arbitrarily for convenience. A NEW method of determining time has been discovered by Capt. F. B. Littell and J. E. Willis of the observatory. This method is be- ing practiced satisfactorily now and after a few minor corrections it is hoped to be put in use this Spring. The method is based on pictures taken of the stars by photographic telescopes. It is an adaptation of the photographic reflex zenith tube, now used to find variation of latitude, to the determination of time. A photographic plate i8 used, which is sta- tionary in the east-west direction. The image ©f a moving star passes over this plate. At each second of slight distance and back again the path of the and the plate shows sponding to the of dots at one of an independent method tion to compare with the the permanent record of photography and greater accuracy which is obtained. Although mean solar time is in use out the country, it is subdivided into ferent kinds of time, or, more translations of the same time. does not cross the meridians in d! of the country simultaneously, variation in solar time that is traveling. To make the situal possible, four time zones ha with one hour’s difference in All the points in each sone form time. The exactitude of variations the calculations very easy. 'The sent out from the observatory Greenwich time, serves as a 10 p. the Eastern zone, & 9 p.m. signal tral zone, and 8 p.m. signal in the zone and a 7 p.m. signal in the W Pacific zone. Eg ggsgé gu g.“g - § HURTIE A J i T!m measurement of time, now so » has passed through a long evolution. The first measure man used was the length of the day, between sunrise and sunset. But it was found, in dividing the days into shorter periods or hours, that to keep the same number of hours for the measure of a day they would have to be longer in Summer and shorter in Winter, or if the hours were to be Rept equal length more of them must be counted to & day in Summer than in Winter. were made by the Egyptians and by the Mayas in Yucatan, who worked out a more accurate calendar than the one we use now. In Baby- lon, a priest of Bel the Sun-God observed the shadow cast by an obelisk and by calculations from his records divided the year into 365Y “suns”; afterward made the first sundial. Clocks, in a beginning stage, were water- 19 on 1rme Twenty-six-inch equatorial telescope used for observation of the stars at the Naval Observatory. clocks, operating on the principle of hour- glasses filled with sand. Next, gravity clocks were invented with wheels cut out of wood that were kept going by means of weights at- tached to a small rope which was wound about a rounded block. After Galileo discovered the laws of pendulum motion, that principle was added and finally colled springs were invénted to drive the clock movements. * In the time of Columbus clocks had a single hand which pointed to the hour figures on the clock face. Hour-glasses were used to deter- mine shorter periods of time. Clocks were next made with two faces, one divided into 12 spaces for hours and one into 60 for minutes. Then A Little Whoo pec in Carthia. Continued from Sizteenth Page is getting known, I fear. I hope you will stick around a while longer.” He glanced meaningly at the artist. “Perhaps—other things worthy of being photographed will—er—happen.” Mr. Bradstreet would tell no more. The cam- eraman had to be content with the promise that hevouldbet.henntukehkeum.tu. whatever it was, ON! other was beginning to bend a little un- der the strain. Editor Biggers was walking in circles and wearing a drawn and silly look around the mouth. “Wally,” said the promoter one afternoon, just after the third ride of the fair lady. “Wally, this thing is breaking right. I've got a heap of things lined up, and soon we'll cut a melon that’ll just drip juice.” Wally fanned himself with a Clarion. “When —er, may I ask when—ah—Miss Gledhill will ride again?” Mr. Bradstreet started. “Miss Gledhill! So you found out her name? What's the idea, chasing down something that doesn’t concern. you?” “But, my dear fellow, it is my duty as a re- porter to see all, hear all, know all. I—er— followed her in a car on her third historic ride. And—I got an interview!” “You did!” snapped Mr. Bradstreet. “Well, you kill it. See? You kill it! Why, that would ruin our plans. What did she tell you?” Mr. Biggers sighed. “She told me—she told me—to get the hell out of there! That was all, Oh, she is so beautiful—so very exquisitely beau- tiful. It was a pleasure—even to be told to go to hell!” Mr. Bradstreet was shocked and perturbed. “Now see here, Wally; you attend to the busi- ness at hand. We've got work to do. 'Tomeor- row—the beer spring breaks!” “My word!” “Yes, sir,” went on the promoter, dreamily. “A golden, bubbling trickle will be accidentally discovered by a wayfarer on the worthless wood lot of Lem Boutwell.” The following afternoon a wayfarer might have been noticed moving along the road by the Boutwell wood lot. An hour later he burst into the editorial of- fice of the Clarion with news, much news. “Listen, brother,” mumbled the wayfarer. “I've discovered something in an old pasture that’ll stand your hair on end. Listen! Say— Say—— “I'm listening,” calmly replied Mr. Biggers. “Pray caim yourself.” “Calm myself! Say—say, would you be calm— if you'd discovered a spring of real beer? Say, get your hat and come with me; I'll show you. By George—I'll show you. Oh, boy!” R. BIGGERS did. Arrived there, Mr. Big- gers walted to be shown. The wayfarer carefully scooped up some of the amber fluld and handed it to the editor, “Looks like beer!” he commented. like beer! Tastes like beer! beer!™ Carthia’s boom was on. It was more than a boom; it was a boom-boom! And out of the mob of sight-seers and tourists there were bound to be some who noted the genuine beauties and possibilities of the place. It was on the afternoon before New Year day that Mr. Bradstreet breezed into Mr. Big- gers’ office. The experiment had been brought to a successful finish. Mr. Biggers was clad surprisingly’ for a busy news-gatherer. He even outshone Mr. Brad- street, whose clothes were always knockouts. “Gosh, Wally, I hardly know you. The Hly has been gilded—and how!” : He sat down on the editorial desk and swung & well-shod foot back and forth, waved a new cane. “The beer spring has dried up,” he smiled. “But nobody found out a thing. It was the best job of piping and tiling I ever saw. Well, we've lost the beer——" “Smells By Jove, it is “I'r had to go,” observed Mr. Biggers, who seemed to have something weighty on his mind. “Yes, yes. It couldn’t stay. No, mno. Here today, gone tomorrow. Yes, indeed.” Ha, hat!” “Jumpy, aren't you?" commented Mr. Brad- street. “Who? Me? Oh, no. Not at all.” “Hum. Well, it's been a great stunt. I've been bothered by only one thing—our Lady Godiva. Of course, when I hired her—got her from the chorus of a musical show in New York—I had no idea of bringing any harm—or hurtful notoriety to her. I've got to see her— and I'll make it all right with her somehow.” Mr. Biggers reddened and stammered. “You —you needn’t bother, really. Really, you needn’t,” he stuttered, lighting the cork end of a cigarette. “No, no. Not at all. She—er-— feelsquite all right about it. Yes, yes.” “How do you know?” Mr. Biggers gulped a swallow that would have filled the Grand Canyon. “I—I married her— this morning!” he exploded. *“I couldn’t help it. She—she was so lovely. And after—after she told me to go to hell—why, we got acquaint- ed—and—and so we were married. Yes, yes. Thanks, old boy. Many thanks!” “Gosh!” feebly whispered Mr. Bradstreet. “Oh, migosh!” (Copyright, 1929.) the present clock, with one face and two hands was made. Our clocks, however, are really balf clocks, since the earth is & 2i-hour tiggges plece. The present system of time, so customary that it seems a natural condition, may be changed in the future. A new system is be- ing considered in the United States and other countries, which would mean adopting every- where one time, “world time.” Use of world time would bring about sim- plification of determining time and would eliminate the calculations that have to be made at present in travel and in dealing with events in different parts of the world. Living by world time would seem_ contradic- tory or wrong at first, since a person could find himself getting up at daybreak, with the clock registering an hour he had beeen ace customed to think of as noon or midnight. But the knowledge that one time was being used in all parts of the world would give the intrie cacy of time determination a needed elgmv. The Tiger Killer. Continued from Eighteenth Page We had grown so hopeless that we would have been thankful for any tiger, just any mediun- shed.lmdmxourhhedbmt-t:n.lndhere was a great killer in the strength of his powers, second, we found out later, to the record gy height. L 3 There are several ways of measuring a tiger, The favorite amateur method is to take a tape measure and follow every convolution of its curves to the end of its tail. In this way some remarkable results are obtained. Or you ean have the skin well stretched and offer that as irrefutable evidence. But the real way is to put a stake at the tiger's nose and another at the base of his tail, and measure the straight line between. We measured the tiger in every direction. '!'beugerwnssreet:iwthebnseolthemn, and the tail was a generous 35 inches, so the total was 9 feet 2. The height to the top of the shoulder was 42 inches, to the top vertebrae, 44 The pad of the front foot was 9 inches long. He was 32Y; inches around the chops in front of the ears. It was 9!5 inches from ear base to ear base. His girth was 581, inches—4 inches smaller than the chest of the big gorilla which Herbert shot in Africa. . The natives were as excited as we were. A tiger, the overlord of the jungle, the enemy of everything with life, had been killed. The spiri$ of the waterfall had answered the prayer— within the three days, as the chief had told us— and answered it generously. Chanting and singing, they carried the tiger, slung to a pole, back through the darkness to the camp. Night had fallen and we carried a light, and saw its reflection shining out at us in the eyes of staring deer. Then as they sniffed their dead enemy—or us—they would snort and Down before the tents the Mois put the tiger, so live-looking his pose that he seemed alive. There were wild doings of triumph about the porters’ fire that night, and there was an al- most incredible peace about ours. All through that night I kept waking. The moon stood high overhead, its light white as snow upon the still earth. The shadows of the pines were like little pools of ink about the base of each tree. In the clear radiance the great tiger lay brilliant, in gold and black beauty, proud and perfect in his death as when he had stalked those plains in his life to seek his quivering prey. (Copyright, 1929.) - )