A perfect balance of science, history, and sociology, Time's Pendulum traces the important developments in humankind's epic quest to measure the hours, days, and years with accuracy, and how our concept of time has changed with each new technological breakthrough. Written in an easy-to-follow chronological format and illustrated with entertaining anecdotes, author Jo Ellen Barnett's history of timekeeping covers everything from the earliest sundials and water clocks, to the pendulum and the more recent advances of battery-powered, quartz-regulated wrist watches and the powerful radioactive "clock," which loses only a few billionths of a second per day, making it nearly ten billion times more accurate than the pendulum clock. A tour of the discoveries and the inventors who endeavored to chart and understand time, Time's Pendulum also explains how each new advance gradually transformed our perception of the world.

Time's Pendulum: From Sundials to Atomic Clocks, the Fascinating History of Timekeeping and How Our Discoveries Changed the World

History

Barnett, Jo Ellen

Ancient Civilizations

Harcourt Brace/Harvest Book

Jo Ellen Barnett takes us a step further in our perpetual quest to comprehend time. She bridges the gap between the mechanical clocks which record the fleeting moment as it passes, and the powerful radioactive "clocks" which have opened up to us the eons of the earth's history, by showing that both are based upon the counting of identical time segments. Beginning with a historical look at clocks to tell the time of day, she discusses the impact of such inventions as the church bell, the pendulum, and the wristwatch on human culture, and explains how they've gradually transformed our perception not only of the world, but of time itself.

Time's Pendulum: The Quest to Capture Time--From Sundials to Atomic Clocks

Science & Math

Astronomy & Space Science

Plenum Trade

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Barnett, Jo Ellen. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Barnett, Jo Ellen