As Time Goes By by Michael Lombardi

There are few subjects, if any, that are talked about more than time. We organize our lives around time, and people have tried to understand time’s elusive nature since the beginning of recorded history. Time is not something that we can change or control, but we can accurately measure its passage. In fact, we can measure time more accurately, with more resolution and with less uncertainty, than we can measure anything else!

As Time Goes By is a comprehensive guide to time and frequency measurements. It differs from other books about time because it doesn’t shy away from the technical details of how time is measured—everything is clearly explained and meticulously referenced. Each topic is placed in a historical context by briefly introducing the people, places, and events that advanced science and brought us to where we are today. The book begins by discussing clocks, the instruments that keep time by measuring frequency, and describes how oscillators provide the frequency that gives clocks their “heartbeat.” From there, it explains how clocks and oscillators are measured, how time is kept internationally, and how time signals are sent from one place to another. The latter chapters describe the current areas of time measurement research, and the existing technologies that rely on accurate time. As Time Goes By is an invaluable reference for students and professionals in physics and engineering, and will also appeal to readers interested in science history and applied science.