![]() ![]() Synchronizing relative time across cities might have inspired Einstein's thought experiments, but it was a poor way to run a railroad. Meanwhile, it was 11:10 in Chicago, 10:59 in St. Take this time and distance indicator from 1862: when it was noon in Philadelphia, it was 12:04 in New York, 12:06 in Albany, 12:16 in Boston, and 11:54 in Baltimore. This meant that time changed in gradients, a complex system captured in gorgeous time tables from the era. noon was when the sun was highest in the sky. in the 1870s there were hundreds of time zones, because localities tended to run on mean solar time, i.e. The patent office in Bern, Switzerland, where Einstein worked, was a clearinghouse for patents on the synchronization of clocks. In the last part of the 19th century, the coordination of clocks and the standardization of time had engaged the passions of nations, business leaders, astronomers and philosophers. Galison relates, before the advent of factories began to standardize life, and railroad systems with crisscrossing tracks made it imperative to know which train was where and when, there were too many times, one for every village. "It's in as plain sight as it could possibly be," he said.Īs Dr. And one clue to the origin of relativity can be found in something as mundane and practical as a 19th-century train schedule. Peter Galison, 48-a Harvard professor of the history of science and of physics, a pilot, art lover and nascent filmmaker-is right, physics and Einstein have flourished more in their connections to the world than in any ivory tower aloofness. In fact, there's a historical argument that the challenges of scheduling trains inspired Albert Einstein's development of the general theory of relativity:Įinstein's relativity has long been regarded by scholars as a monument to the power of abstract thought. Chicago was and still is the biggest railroad town in the country, and the railroads were, in both the United States and Europe, the catalyst for the creation of time zones. What only glancingly made it into the article was something else I learned: America was divided into its (mostly accepted) time zones in Chicago. I learned a lot from it, including how complex and contentious they still are (Maine and Massachusetts have been considering getting out of daylight saving time and moving to the Atlantic time zone, and they have a compelling argument), and how daylight saving time emerged from one postman's entomology hobby. ![]() Uses the closest city, rather than the more common Eastern,Ĭentral, Mountain or Pacific time zones in the United States.Yesterday I published a freelance piece on the ins and outs of time zones. Seconds announced at irregular intervals to compensate for theĮarth's slowing rotation. Seconds defined by International Atomic Time (TAI), with leap Time (UTC), or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Positive or negative offset computed from Coordinated Universal Use it as a meeting planner or a scheduler to find the best time The calculator will automaticallyĪdjust for daylight saving time (DST) in the summer. You can enter airports,Ĭities, states, countries, or zip codes to find the time differenceīetween any two locations. This is the best time to reach them fromĬonverter for places all over the world. This will be between 7AM - 11PM their time, since South America is 1 hour ahead of Chicago, Illinois.īut you want to reach someone in South America at work, you may want to try between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM your time. If you live in Chicago, IL and you want to call a friend in South America, you can try calling them between 6:00 AM and 10:00 PM your time. Schedule a phone call from Chicago, IL to South America ![]() That will end up being between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM in South America. Meeting at the best time for both parties, you should try between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM your time in Chicago, IL. Meeting planner for Chicago, Illinois and South America ![]()
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