Philosophy
One hundred and sixty seven years ago today, Samuel Morse sent the first telegram from Washington D.C. to Baltimore with the message "What hath God wrought?" It was the first non-local instantaneous transfer of human thought in history. The world, which was almost unfathomably large, had begun to shrink. That I could know what was happening there while still being here, separated space from time.
It was also on this day one hundred and eighty one years ago that the first commercial railroads became operable -- again connecting Baltimore with the outside world, in this case westward with the B&O lines -- making it possible to get from place to place in time-spans that were previously unthinkable. Again, the world shrunk.
But it not only changed our view of space, also time. The trains moved fast and space was no longer the obstacle it had been. But that speed came with danger. Trains used the same tracks and to avoid deadly accidents, switches had to be changed with precisions that were not previously needed. Time became a matter of life and death.
But this time needed to be a universal time, that is, when the conductor coming east from Pittsburgh checked his watch and the conductor going west from Philadelphia checked his watch, they needed to say the same thing. But time in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were different. Noon is when the sun is at its highest point in the sky. But since Pittsburgh is west of Philadelphia, noon happens there later. When the train conductors looked at their watches, where was the time to be set? The difference from town to town was enough to wreak havoc on the railroads. A standard needed to be set for safety's sake.
And so it is that a movement began that gave us time zones, regularity across the entire planet. The observatory at Greenwich became the zero point -- partially because astronomers also had need for very accurate time measures, and in part because the French had the official meter stick and if the French were going to be the holders of the unit of space, then the British were going to claim the standard for time.
So it is that the advances of May 24 gave rise to the need for time as we know it.
- The Shuttle Program And Re-internationalization Of Science
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- Bullshit Or Not: John Locke Edition
This week's quotation for adjudication comes from the Second Treatise on Civil Government: Thus this law of reason makes the deer that Indian's who hath killed it; it is allowed to be his goods, who hath bestowed his labour upon it, though before...
- Deceased--richard Steinheimer
Richard Steinheimer August 23rd, 1929 to May 4th, 2011 "Richard Steinheimer dies at 81; pre-eminent railroad photographer" He recorded the industry's transition from steam to diesel, perched atop speeding trains to photograph their motion, and took...
- High Speed Rail Transportation
In a response to another entry [ Henschel V-8 steam locomotive--doomed ] "modernsteam" wrote "...fast passenger rail is now viable, especially using hydro or 4th-generation thorium-based nuclear electricity, pending the implementation of something like...
- The Royal Observatory...the Beginnings
I almost forgot but today is the official beginning of The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England as decreed by King Charles II. "Greenwich Becomes Royal Pane on the Stars" by Randy Alfred June 22nd, 2009 Wired 1675: Britain's King Charles...
Philosophy
What Hath God Wrought? How Modern Time Was Born Today
One hundred and sixty seven years ago today, Samuel Morse sent the first telegram from Washington D.C. to Baltimore with the message "What hath God wrought?" It was the first non-local instantaneous transfer of human thought in history. The world, which was almost unfathomably large, had begun to shrink. That I could know what was happening there while still being here, separated space from time.
It was also on this day one hundred and eighty one years ago that the first commercial railroads became operable -- again connecting Baltimore with the outside world, in this case westward with the B&O lines -- making it possible to get from place to place in time-spans that were previously unthinkable. Again, the world shrunk.
But it not only changed our view of space, also time. The trains moved fast and space was no longer the obstacle it had been. But that speed came with danger. Trains used the same tracks and to avoid deadly accidents, switches had to be changed with precisions that were not previously needed. Time became a matter of life and death.
But this time needed to be a universal time, that is, when the conductor coming east from Pittsburgh checked his watch and the conductor going west from Philadelphia checked his watch, they needed to say the same thing. But time in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were different. Noon is when the sun is at its highest point in the sky. But since Pittsburgh is west of Philadelphia, noon happens there later. When the train conductors looked at their watches, where was the time to be set? The difference from town to town was enough to wreak havoc on the railroads. A standard needed to be set for safety's sake.
And so it is that a movement began that gave us time zones, regularity across the entire planet. The observatory at Greenwich became the zero point -- partially because astronomers also had need for very accurate time measures, and in part because the French had the official meter stick and if the French were going to be the holders of the unit of space, then the British were going to claim the standard for time.
So it is that the advances of May 24 gave rise to the need for time as we know it.
- The Shuttle Program And Re-internationalization Of Science
With the last shuttle mission half over, it is interesting to think about the results of the space shuttle program. During the first half of the 20th century, science was political. There was a reason why the Nazis were decrying the theory of relativity...
- Bullshit Or Not: John Locke Edition
This week's quotation for adjudication comes from the Second Treatise on Civil Government: Thus this law of reason makes the deer that Indian's who hath killed it; it is allowed to be his goods, who hath bestowed his labour upon it, though before...
- Deceased--richard Steinheimer
Richard Steinheimer August 23rd, 1929 to May 4th, 2011 "Richard Steinheimer dies at 81; pre-eminent railroad photographer" He recorded the industry's transition from steam to diesel, perched atop speeding trains to photograph their motion, and took...
- High Speed Rail Transportation
In a response to another entry [ Henschel V-8 steam locomotive--doomed ] "modernsteam" wrote "...fast passenger rail is now viable, especially using hydro or 4th-generation thorium-based nuclear electricity, pending the implementation of something like...
- The Royal Observatory...the Beginnings
I almost forgot but today is the official beginning of The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England as decreed by King Charles II. "Greenwich Becomes Royal Pane on the Stars" by Randy Alfred June 22nd, 2009 Wired 1675: Britain's King Charles...