Clock Lord

In our modern age when it seems like a clock is attached to almost all objects (cell phones, pens, media players, game consoles, computers), it’s odd to think that so many people still prefer an old fashioned wall clock in their home.  There’s something comforting about being able to look up and check the time with a glance.  Even if it’s a digital wall clock, for some reason larger clocks just have a certain appeal.  Whether it’s for the home or office, it’s nice to have a large wall clock to be able to check on the time whenever you like.

In an age long past, it was common for a town to have a single clock located on a clock tower, and perhaps this is one of the reasons people are so fascinated with larger clocks that have a face.  Wall clocks also tend to be much more ornamental than other clocks, and this might contribute to why people tend to find them so entertaining! 

When you’re scrambling to make flights, hustle to client meetings, and wake up on time every day, there’s nothing better than having an accurate clock.  When traveling, travel alarm clocks are the most valuable tools in your suitcase.  When purchasing a travel alarm clock, it’s important to have one with a loud alarm.  After all, with jet lag, airplane food, and the stress of travel, you’re much more liable to sleep through an alarm than you would be at home. 

When meeting with clients or other members of the company, punctuality is key to making a good impression.  First impressions are the most important, and when someone is on time, or early, it illustrates that you respect the other person’s time.  There’s nothing worse than missing out on a deal because a client feels the company doesn’t respect their time.  Carry a travel alarm clock with you no matter what you’re doing! 

Despite the implications of the title of this post, it’s not about an office that uses nuclear power, emits radiation, or has radioactive waste!  No, instead we’re talking about the importance of having an atomic clock in the office.  How often do those employees sneak out a few minutes early, or come in a few minutes late?  With certain clocks, this can be happening and supervisors won’t even know it!  It’s important to have an atomic wall clock in the office to maintain an accurate gauge of the time, and to monitor all those people who show up late or leave early just a little too often. 

Who knows, you might even catch a time culprit you never would have suspected.  It’s also good to have an atomic wall clock so that those tricky employees can’t set it a few minutes faster or slower for their own benefit! 

When you’re making precise measurements, recording evidence, and refining your hypothesis, you need an accurate timepiece.  Scientists and researchers around the world use atomic clocks to record time at the most accurate measurements.  In addition, space scientists and astronomers often use atomic clock moon phase capabilities to track activity in the skies.  It’s essential for all serious researchers to have an atomic clock; after all, as all scientists know, a matter of seconds can be the difference between a major discovery and another failed hypothesis. 

When setting up an atomic clock, it often takes the clock a few days to receive the atomic signal from one of the worldwide transmitters.  If you live in the United States, you’ll be receiving your signal from Colorado.  But once you have the signal, the atomic clock is accurate down to as little as a hundredth of a second (depending on the model). 

The LCD technology that we now see in high definition televisions, monitors, and video screens was, oddly enough, pioneered by alarm clocks.  The technology used in the digital alarm clock was one of the earliest uses of LCD technology.  LCD screens are made up of tiny pixels, often smaller than the eye can see, and create a cohesive picture from all of the pixels working together.  Most digital alarm clocks make use of LCD technology, but on a much smaller scale.  However, because of the magnificence of the technology, digital alarm clocks have changed little since their conception.

It’s often thought that Plasma and LCD screens are identical, however, the two are based on different technologies despite their same purpose of producing a high quality image.  Though LCD technology in alarm clocks has remained consistent, LCD screens just continue to get better. 

When I was younger the only alarm clock I has was the old-fashioned analog type with the loud ringing bell. That thing got me out of bed in the morning, but only because it sounded like a little piece of shrieking hell. Sometimes I got so angry listening to that alarm sound off that I would throw the clock across the room. Unfortunately, it never broke, and my parents wouldn’t buy me a new one.

Thank goodness, I grew up and got a job of my own. Since then I have been able to invest in several digital alarm clocks. I love these because it’s easy to decipher the numbers, and you can select what kind of sound you want to wake up to. I would never go back to using one of those obnoxious, old-timey gizmos.

It’s difficult to shop for someone who wants to be on the cutting edge of technology all the time with new technology changing so fast.  Here are a few fun ideas to appease that tech geek on your holiday shopping list this season. 

~Projection alarm clock; these modern alarm clocks project the time as well as other information onto a nearby wall.

~ITunes Gift Card; if they own an IPod or an IPhone (as any tech geek should), they’ll probably love a gift card to put towards downloading their favorite movies and music. 

~Blue-Ray player; for a more expensive gift, these can play new high definition movies for ultimate picture and sound. 

When preparing for travel, there are a few items one should always take along in addition to the standard fare like passport, clothes, and cash or traveler’s checks. 

~Sandals, they’re great for walking around hotels, campgrounds, or casual urban settings.

~Travel Alarm Clock, you’ll need one if you want to wake up on time, or check the time during the middle of the night; particularly essential for traveling to different time zones.

~Sun Tan Lotion, even in cold arctic settings, your skin can get burned outside, and sunburns ruin vacations.

~Phrasebook or dictionary, only necessary for traveling abroad, but in such cases, it will be of huge assistance. 

The radio clock, often referenced as the atomic clock, is one of the most accurate clocks on the planet.   These clocks are referred to as atomic clocks because their time is based on radio waves intercepted from actual atomic clocks, and if synchronized correctly, are accurate to the second.  Once each day, (usually during the nighttime) a radio clock will attempt to receive a signal broadcast from an atomic clock, and adjust its time accordingly.  As atomic clocks are accurate down to miniscule fractions of a second, for casual use, the radio clock is much more accurate than most timepieces. 

There are several longwave radio transmitters around the world that broadcast an atomic clock signal, in the US, WWVB, a true atomic clock, is located in Fort Collins, Colorado and broadcasts a signal receivable throughout North America.

In 1972, Hamilton produced the first watch with a digital display. They had hinted that they had a new breakthrough as early as 1970 but had two years of teething problems before its 18-carat gold Pulsar hit the world at a price of $2,100. By pressing a button on the side, the time was displayed on a red numeric display, caused by a light emitting diode (LED) display. Hamilton had provided a brief glimpse into the future in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey when the company provided the futuristic digital clock that featured in the film.

The LED is created by passing an electric charge through inorganic materials. Seven electronic switches went into making each of the numerals on the display. The original red light was generated by using aluminium gallium arsenide, however Pulsar later produced a green LED using gallium nitride.

Many in the industry began to believe that the new quartz analogue watches would even be doomed to extinction so soon after their arrival that it wasn’t worth buying into the trend, something which was reflected in the writings of Douglas Adams and other contemporary writers at the end of the 1970s and start of the 1980s.

Before the watch companies could ‘do away with’ the analog watch though, they first had to bring down the price of the digital successor. Competition in the digital field increased and by 1975 there were over 80 varieties available. This competition helped to bring prices down but the product was still out of the range of the average consumer. Products such as digital alarm clocks trickled to the market over time.