The sun., 1909-05-30
KEEPING The NATIONS TIMg
WONDERFUL CL0HkS AT TIE
WASHINGTON OBSERVATORY,

How the signal Marking Noon Is FLASHED
Over 900, 900 Miles OF Wires ana
Cabies--sent by Wireless Also Nova.
days Delicate Instruments used.
WASHINGTON, May 2s.-A few minute,
before u o'clock noon every day ir the
year a young man walks into a certain
room of the main building at the Nassl
Observatory. which is set UP on a hyl
In the northwestern part OF the District
OF Columbia. He glanoes at the variou,
CLOCKS in the room and then goes over
to table which is covered with electric
apparatus.
He watches the clocks to his left closev
and waits for the hands to reach five
minutes Of H. As tho second hand ap-
proaohes the 90 on tho dial he prepares
to shift switch. The clock Is SO finely
adjusted that when the second hand
points to 90 1t exactly marks the begin.
ming Of a new minute.
As it touches the 90 the switches are
thrown on. That starts a signal that
goes out instantaneously over soo,os
miles OF telegraph lines. In Wasiingvou,
New York. Buffalo, Cleveland. Newport,
Baltimore, Newport News. Norfolk, Sa.
vannah. New Orleans, Key West. Gal.
weston, Chicago and elsewhere the time
balls 20 up on their poles. People know
that it Is FIVE minutes before noon Wash.
ington time
Tho clock which keeps the time in the
observatory ticks on. With each tick there
is contact OF electric points. A circuit
is closed and an instrument on the table
similar in appearance to a telegraph
sounder ticks away loudly. 49,,
1t goes on to the twenty ninth second,
then skips ono tick, then resumes its
steady sounding until the last Eve seconds,
then there Is smother gap. These gaps :
are for tho purpose Of giving listeners at
other ends OF the great system Of wires
a chance to know what part Of tho minute
the clock is on So 1t goes up TO the last
minute.
At the twenty ninth second there Is !,
again the skipping OF ono second. Finally
the clock gets around to the fftieth SEC.
ond. Then the circuit remains open
for ton seconds. There is silence all
along the telegraph wires.
At the other ends. whore there are time
balls or merely train operators. the long
pause indicates that noon is almost there.
Tho second hand makes on toward sixty
and finally reaches the mark. Then thers
is another click, in about a second the
sounder is down and that tolls hundreds
OF thousands Of people that it is noon in
Washington, that the Naval Observatory
says 80, and the Naval Observatory is
- - HAa kaA tp0
tutions in the United States.
1t is a wonderful operation. this getting
the time, and highly technical. Finely
adjusted clocks, chronographs and other
Instruments OF great value are used.
and the taking and recording Of the time
has reached a point where the human
equation Is practically eliminated.
PARTICULARLY to mariners. The time is
not only flashed to hundreds OF points
in the Unites States but 1t is sent far
out to sea by wireless. 4 cable carries
the fash to Havana, another sends it
The observatory here does not send
the time much further west than the
Rockies. but they have an observatory
at the Mare Island Navy Yard. and from
there the time 10 sent up and down the
Pacific coast. just as 1t is from here to
the Eastern part Of the United States. In
the cities whore the central time is used
the fiaah marks II O'Clock. An hour later
local operators drop the time balls.
The mean time 10 determined by astro-
nomioal observations. When certain stars
pass the 18th meridian. called the merid-
ian Of Washington, it Is a. certain time
The operator watches for the stars
through telescope, the field Of which
is covered with fine wires,
fha afara F6a0h n C6rtain r,oint
in transit the operator presses key in
his hand. A contact Is made and recorded
on a chronoRraph. The chronograph con-
sists OF cylinder covered with paper, A
pen rests on the paper. II is
held by an arm attached to the mechan-
ute and the pen moves along the surface
Of the paper, making a spiral line.
A sidereal clock Of the finest make is
running in q vault underneath the OBJ
With each tick OF the clock
there is a contact Of two points. These
two points are attached to wires that lead
to an eleot.emagnet RON attsohea tss to the arm
The clock is 80 adjusted that each minute
the pen jumps TO one side. Consequently
there is a break in the line.
There are other breaks, too. when the
observer watches the stars cross the lines
in the field OF the telescope. The mean
tlInS Cnu8 TGCOrQ60 LOT 6dCu stHT dltcI
being corrected for errors. 10 the clock
time OF the stars transit. Whatever
difference there is betwe cen this clock
time and the sidereal time marked BY the
transit Of the stars Is the error OF the clock
From these astronomical observations
the sidereal time Ia obtained. The error
amounts to but little. rarely being more
than from Ave one-hundredths to ten one
OF a second.
The eideneal clocks are wonderful
lin by a man named Riener. There are
two Of the clocks in the observatory
building here, and third Riefer clock
is in the room from which the time is sent
out to the world.
The sidereal clocks in the observatory
are beneath the ground, in the basement
Of tho building. Tho room which con
tains them Is small. There are three walls
1t, with spaces between them.
The effort is made to keep the tempera-
ture within the room always the same.
For this purpose there is q thermosta
30 delicately made that the increase In
heat caused by the presence OF human
being in the room. Il only for minute
will be indicated,
The clocks are in large glass cylinders,
four or five feet high and hermetically
sealed. The cylinders are fastened 70
stone pillars which reach down into the
ground and do not touch any part OF the
flooring Thus there Ii no chance OF VI
brations affecting the clock except from
earthquakes, and such happenings are
beyond the control OF the scientists,
The clock winds itself every thirty
seconds BY means of q small weight The