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Telling the time: From sundials to satnav

A quick walk through the history of time keeping, from sundials to atomic clocks.

Many of us can find the time of day quickly and accurately but where did the idea of time keeping originate and how did our ancestors manage without the instant access we take for granted today?

From ancient shadow and water clocks to the latest super accurate optical clocks, Bridget Kendal explores time keeping with the Curator of the Royal Observatory in London, Dr Louise Devoy; the Director of the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford, Dr Silke Ackermann; and watch and clock expert Gr茅gory Gardinetti from the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva.

Photo: World Clocks (Credit: EyeWire, Inc.)

Available now

44 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Thu 15 Oct 2020 09:06GMT
  • Thu 15 Oct 2020 23:06GMT
  • Sat 17 Oct 2020 15:06GMT
  • Sun 18 Oct 2020 14:06GMT
  • Mon 19 Oct 2020 02:06GMT

Podcast