ROTATION OF THE EARTH AND TIME SCALES
by Vladimir ZHAROV, Dr. Sc. (Phys. & Math.), Gravimetry Laboratory Head, P. Shternberg Astronomical Institute, Lomonosov Moscow State University For ages man has been using rotation of the earth in time measurements. Found to be irregular since the atomic clock entered the stage in the mid-20th century, it depends on many processes unfolding within our planet, in its oceans and atmosphere. Relevant information goes far beyond pure science alone-it matters a good deal for hands-on problem solving, too. Now why is our planet spinning irregularly and why is humankind spending so much for research into the phenomenon? Before answering these and other questions, let us first turn to the history of astronomy, a science as old as the human world. From the very outset it was concerned with the following objectives: fixing an observer's position; establishing the location of a place on earth; taking celestial fixes to obtain a position (and determine the time of religious and historic events). Economic considerations, too, made it necessary to have an exact calendar based on astronomical observations of the sun, moon and stars. Today these problems are being tackled by astrometry, one of the disciplines within astronomy. From a large number of cuneiform-script clay tablets found in Mesopotamia (a flat country between the Tigris and the Euphrates) we know for sure: even at that time (4 - 3 thousand years B. C.) high priests indulged in star-gazing. They determined the periods of solar and lunar eclipses and learned how to predict these natural phenomena. Babylonians (Babylonia was an ancient empire in southern Mesopotamia that flourished early in the second millennium B. C. in what is now Iraq) developed a sexagesimal (base - 60) system of calculus and a lunar-solar calendar. The nascent science of astronomy owed much to high priests of ancient Egypt, too. The welfare of that country depended on the Nile and its regular overflows that brought fertile silt onto cultiva ... Read more
____________________

This publication was posted on Libmonster in another country. The article seemed interesting to our editor.

Full version: http://libmonster.com/m/articles/view/ROTATION-OF-THE-EARTH-AND-TIME-SCALES
Sweden Online · 2203 days ago 0 692
Professional Authors' Comments:
Order by: 
Per page: 
 
  • There are no comments yet
Library guests comments




Actions
Rate
0 votes
Publisher
Sweden Online
Stockholm, Sweden
02.10.2018 (2203 days ago)
Link
Permanent link to this publication:

https://library.se/blogs/entry/ROTATION-OF-THE-EARTH-AND-TIME-SCALES


© library.se
 
Library Partners

LIBRARY.SE - Swedish Digital Library

Create your author's collection of articles, books, author's works, biographies, photographic documents, files. Save forever your author's legacy in digital form. Click here to register as an author.
ROTATION OF THE EARTH AND TIME SCALES
 

Editorial Contacts
Chat for Authors: SE LIVE: We are in social networks:

About · News · For Advertisers

Swedish Digital Library ® All rights reserved.
2014-2024, LIBRARY.SE is a part of Libmonster, international library network (open map)
Keeping the heritage of Serbia


LIBMONSTER NETWORK ONE WORLD - ONE LIBRARY

US-Great Britain Sweden Serbia
Russia Belarus Ukraine Kazakhstan Moldova Tajikistan Estonia Russia-2 Belarus-2

Create and store your author's collection at Libmonster: articles, books, studies. Libmonster will spread your heritage all over the world (through a network of affiliates, partner libraries, search engines, social networks). You will be able to share a link to your profile with colleagues, students, readers and other interested parties, in order to acquaint them with your copyright heritage. Once you register, you have more than 100 tools at your disposal to build your own author collection. It's free: it was, it is, and it always will be.

Download app for Android