Slicing the Fourth
(axalatar.github.io)
What is the fourth dimension? What does it mean for there to be another?
What is the fourth dimension? What does it mean for there to be another?
Doomsday clock set at 89 seconds to midnight
(thebulletin.org)
In setting the Clock one second closer to midnight, the Science and Security Board sends a stark signal:
In setting the Clock one second closer to midnight, the Science and Security Board sends a stark signal:
The surprising struggle to get a Unix Epoch time from a UTC string in C or C++
(berthub.eu)
So how hard could it be. As input we have something like Fri, 17 Jan 2025 06:07:07 in UTC, and we’d like to turn this into 1737094027, the notional (but not actual) number of seconds that have passed since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC.
So how hard could it be. As input we have something like Fri, 17 Jan 2025 06:07:07 in UTC, and we’d like to turn this into 1737094027, the notional (but not actual) number of seconds that have passed since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC.
Time Dilation Formula / Calculator
(timedilationformula.com)
Time dilation is like a magic trick that happens when you travel really fast. The faster you go, the slower time moves for you compared to people standing still on Earth!
Time dilation is like a magic trick that happens when you travel really fast. The faster you go, the slower time moves for you compared to people standing still on Earth!
All clocks are 30 seconds late
(victorpoughon.fr)
OK, this is going to sound crazy: I believe all clocks are 30 seconds late.
OK, this is going to sound crazy: I believe all clocks are 30 seconds late.
Killing Orson Welles at Midnight (2011)
(nybooks.com)
It’s two in the afternoon. No one is groaning; no one turns over in bed or hits an alarm clock—it’s much too late for that. Love set you going like a fat gold watch.… But by two o’clock the morning song is just a memory. We are no longer speculating as to what set us going, we just know we are going. We are less sentimental in the afternoon. We watch the minute hand go round: 2:01 becoming 2:02 becoming 2:03.
It’s two in the afternoon. No one is groaning; no one turns over in bed or hits an alarm clock—it’s much too late for that. Love set you going like a fat gold watch.… But by two o’clock the morning song is just a memory. We are no longer speculating as to what set us going, we just know we are going. We are less sentimental in the afternoon. We watch the minute hand go round: 2:01 becoming 2:02 becoming 2:03.
Dark Energy May Not Exist: Something Stranger Might Explain the Universe
(sciencealert.com)
There might not be a mysterious 'dark' force accelerating the expansion of the Universe after all. The truth could be much stranger – bubbles of space where time passes at drastically different rates.
There might not be a mysterious 'dark' force accelerating the expansion of the Universe after all. The truth could be much stranger – bubbles of space where time passes at drastically different rates.
A brief history of Time Scales
(ucolick.org)
A definition for the term "time scale": 16th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union Grenoble, France (1976) Resolution No. 4 by Commissions 4 (Ephemerides) and 31 (Time) 3.(a) a useful time scale is generated by any process which enables dates to be assigned to events
A definition for the term "time scale": 16th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union Grenoble, France (1976) Resolution No. 4 by Commissions 4 (Ephemerides) and 31 (Time) 3.(a) a useful time scale is generated by any process which enables dates to be assigned to events
The Long, Painful History of Time (1999)
(naggum.no)
The programming language Common Lisp offers a few functions to support the concept of time as humans experience it, including GET-UNIVERSAL-TIME, ENCODE-UNIVERSAL-TIME, DECODE-UNIVERSAL-TIME, and GET-DECODED-TIME. These functions assume the existence of a timezone and a daylight saving time regime, such that they can support the usual expression of time in the environment in which a small number of real-life applications run.
The programming language Common Lisp offers a few functions to support the concept of time as humans experience it, including GET-UNIVERSAL-TIME, ENCODE-UNIVERSAL-TIME, DECODE-UNIVERSAL-TIME, and GET-DECODED-TIME. These functions assume the existence of a timezone and a daylight saving time regime, such that they can support the usual expression of time in the environment in which a small number of real-life applications run.
What is a second?
(johndcook.com)
The previous post looked into the common definition of Unix time as “the number of seconds since January 1, 1970 GMT” and why it’s not exactly true. It was true for a couple years before we started inserting leap seconds. Strictly speaking, Unix time is the number of non-leap seconds since January 1, 1970.
The previous post looked into the common definition of Unix time as “the number of seconds since January 1, 1970 GMT” and why it’s not exactly true. It was true for a couple years before we started inserting leap seconds. Strictly speaking, Unix time is the number of non-leap seconds since January 1, 1970.
Seconds Since the Epoch
(aphyr.com)
This is not at all news, but it comes up often enough that I think there should be a concise explanation of the problem. People, myself included, like to say that POSIX time, also known as Unix time, is the number of seconds since the Unix epoch, which was 1970-01-01 at 00:00:00.
This is not at all news, but it comes up often enough that I think there should be a concise explanation of the problem. People, myself included, like to say that POSIX time, also known as Unix time, is the number of seconds since the Unix epoch, which was 1970-01-01 at 00:00:00.
Scientists observe 'negative time' in quantum experiments
(phys.org)
Scientists have long known that light can sometimes appear to exit a material before entering it—an effect dismissed as an illusion caused by how waves are distorted by matter.
Scientists have long known that light can sometimes appear to exit a material before entering it—an effect dismissed as an illusion caused by how waves are distorted by matter.
Eliminating Daylight Savings Time would make the average American’s life darker
(natesilver.net)
Last week, President-elect Trump pledged to “eliminate” Daylight Savings Time1, which he called “inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation”. The idea may have been inspired by DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, an agency set to be run by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, after Musk and Ramaswamy pitched a similar plan earlier this month.
Last week, President-elect Trump pledged to “eliminate” Daylight Savings Time1, which he called “inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation”. The idea may have been inspired by DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, an agency set to be run by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, after Musk and Ramaswamy pitched a similar plan earlier this month.
RFC 9557: Date and Time on the Internet: Timestamps with Additional Information
(rfc-editor.org)
This document defines an extension to the timestamp format defined in [RFC3339] for representing additional information, including a time zone.
This document defines an extension to the timestamp format defined in [RFC3339] for representing additional information, including a time zone.
The mind-bending new science of measuring time
(ft.com)
The mind-bending new science of measuring time
The mind-bending new science of measuring time
Railroads inspired the creation of time zones
(bbc.com)
The invention of railroads ushered in a new era of land travel, and forever changed the way humans perceive time.
The invention of railroads ushered in a new era of land travel, and forever changed the way humans perceive time.
The Charms of Catastrophe (1978)
(nybooks.com)
“All things,” said Charles Peirce, “swim in continua.” At what wave length does blue become green? When does a child become a grown-up? Are viruses alive? Do cows think? It is also obvious that there are discrete “things” that swim in these spectrums, and sometimes jump from one part of a spectrum to another. Day fades into night, but a flicked switch produces instant darkness.
“All things,” said Charles Peirce, “swim in continua.” At what wave length does blue become green? When does a child become a grown-up? Are viruses alive? Do cows think? It is also obvious that there are discrete “things” that swim in these spectrums, and sometimes jump from one part of a spectrum to another. Day fades into night, but a flicked switch produces instant darkness.
UK sleep experts say it's time to kill daylight saving for good
(theregister.com)
The streets of Soho aren't alive with disco or bellbottoms anymore, so maybe it's time to ditch another '70s icon we should have outgrown by now, says the British Sleep Society (BSS).
The streets of Soho aren't alive with disco or bellbottoms anymore, so maybe it's time to ditch another '70s icon we should have outgrown by now, says the British Sleep Society (BSS).
Sinusoidal Sunlight
(leancrew.com)
I started my morning walk earlier than usual today, and it was still fairly dark out. I thought about this post from last year and the Daylight line in the graph:
I started my morning walk earlier than usual today, and it was still fairly dark out. I thought about this post from last year and the Daylight line in the graph:
Time is a dimension, but not like space
(bigthink.com)
The fabric of spacetime is four-dimensional, with three for space and only one for time. But wow, time sure is different from space!
The fabric of spacetime is four-dimensional, with three for space and only one for time. But wow, time sure is different from space!
On the Nature of Time
(stephenwolfram.com)
Time is a central feature of human experience. But what actually is it? In traditional scientific accounts it’s often represented as some kind of coordinate much like space (though a coordinate that for some reason is always systematically increasing for us). But while this may be a useful mathematical description, it’s not telling us anything about what time in a sense “intrinsically is”.
Time is a central feature of human experience. But what actually is it? In traditional scientific accounts it’s often represented as some kind of coordinate much like space (though a coordinate that for some reason is always systematically increasing for us). But while this may be a useful mathematical description, it’s not telling us anything about what time in a sense “intrinsically is”.
Evidence of 'Negative Time' Found in Quantum Physics Experiment
(scientificamerican.com)
Time can take on negative values in the quantum realm.
Time can take on negative values in the quantum realm.
The perils of transition to 64-bit time_t
(gentoo.org)
As 2038 is approaching, 32-bit applications exercising 32-bit time_t are up to stop working.
As 2038 is approaching, 32-bit applications exercising 32-bit time_t are up to stop working.
Show HN: Cronexpr, a Rust library to parse and iter crontab expression
(docs.rs)
cronexpr is a library to parse and drive the crontab expression.
cronexpr is a library to parse and drive the crontab expression.
A web site dedicated to precise Time and Frequency
(leapsecond.com)
Twenty five years ago I wanted to build a LED digital analog clock that would be accurate to better than one second per year -- so I would have the fun of adjusting it when a leap second occurred.
Twenty five years ago I wanted to build a LED digital analog clock that would be accurate to better than one second per year -- so I would have the fun of adjusting it when a leap second occurred.