Academies and Universities

1. Academies
   1. The 18th Cent. The overwhelming majority of the major publications listed were supported by academies, royal, public or private. We will look at this material is some detail later. Bear in mind that though the triumph of the Copernican model may appear inevitable and immediate, that was definitely not the case. It remained an unsubstantiated.
   2. What about universities? Many remained devoted to traditional study of theology, and most importantly, to the perpetuation of the Aristotelian system. Not much support for any of the new disciplines like botany, engineering, electricity, chemistry, etc.
2. Introduction to Measuring Time and Space How important is measurement to the practice of science? to everyday life? But why? How important is the use of standard measures of time, weight, distance for resolving everyday problems? for understanding scientific ones?
3. Note the following: in the ancient world there were no standards for measuring space or weight.
   1. Every city has it own system. Take for example the so-called "stade" or "stadium" as a standard distance for running races. Greek games had running events that involved competions over different lengths. Scholars believe that the stade was about a tenth of a mile, archaeologists report that in measuring the running tracks (and we have the start and finish lines) there is actually significant variation (up to 20%).
   2. Though every city had a lunar-solar calendar and used intercalarly months to reconcile, they did so as it pleased each community. Morever, each community had it own new year's date. The Julian (1st Cent BC) and Gregorian (16th Cent) reforms brought some unity to this system.
   3. Even in the mid 19th century there was no standard time of day; each community had its own clock. Only the demands of railroad companies for consistent scheduling brought about standardization.

Measuring Time

1. The Problem: Assume no watch/clock: How to measure time by day? and what about by night? And how important is it that a clock be correct to the second per day? or is a minute per day accurate enough (achieved in 1582)? Watches in the17th century accurate to 10 minutes per day. Constraint: changing temperature and pressure affects timekeeping. Is nanosecond accuracy important?
   1. Astronomy: early in the historical period astronomical observations (equinoxes; solstices) were more reliable indicators for agricultural process than was climate (warm spell in early May may mislead). Note the OT (sun, moon, stars serve as signs of change in seasons; so too in Greek mythology. The great dilemma: the solar and lunar cycles do not agree by as much as ten days per year. But also a recognition as early as Homer that the further north one went the longer the days in summer, etc.
   2. Units of time:
      1. day; year. the constants, but how to divide them? The Egyptians used used groups of 10 days to make a decan, and 36 decans to make a year...complete rejection of the lunar/lunar-solar system. A twelve lunar months = 354 days
      2. Weeks? Hours (seasonal or equinoctial)? Minutes? Seconds? How to measure them?
2. Elements of a clock:
   1. regular, constant or repetitive process or action to mark off equal increments of time.
   2. a means of keeping track of the increments of time and displaying the result.
3. Devices for measuring time.
   1. Sundial of Augustus; a measurement. The sundail Santa Maria dei Angeli. The system. Telling time.
   2. Clepsydra animation. Non animated version
   3. Up until the Renaissance, time annouced by blowing a horn (still done in Münster)on the hour or by ringing a bell (cloche=> clock). First large clocks in the 14th century. With dial somewhat later, but only one hand; the town crier. The clock dial/pendulum system not invented until the mid 17th century. Note that the dial divides into 360 degrees ADVANTAGES of 360??, whence comes 60 minute hours, etc.
   4. Longitude. clock one = GMT; clock two = local time. Or: watch the sun until it reaches its highest point ... but how? . Ipso facto that must be noon local time. Compare that time to a standard clock. Time_difference x 360 / 24 = degrees east or west of meridian. [7 hours plus one for PDT = 8]. Eugene is at 123 degrees west
   5. The Chronograph...the great competition.
   6. Cesium clock and the apparatus.

Latitude and Longitude Worksheet.