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For General
Release
For more
information:
The Marketing Communications Department
262.248.4449
email: press@primex-inc.com
TECHNICAL TIME
Geneva
Technologies and Chaney Instrument Co. Track Time with
Innovative Atomix™
Clocks and Watches
Since time began,
man has found a way to measure and track it. From sundials and
lunar calendars, to pendulum clocks and quartz watches, man has had
a fascination in the perfection of tracking time. As cultures
became more sophisticated, so too did the methods of keeping time,
and changing time to provide consistency¾with the need for accuracy
in today’s global society requiring precision to the fraction of a
second.
Today, atomic
clocks and watches offer the sophistication and reliability
businesses need today, providing accuracy within a fraction of a
second. Radio waves ensure synchronicity of atomic timepieces with
the atomic clock operated by the National Institute of Standards and
Technology in Boulder, Colorado. Previously only used by NASA, the
military, aviation, and broadcast industries to guarantee perfect
synchronization, atomic timekeeping had historically been
astronomically expensive¾until now. Geneva Technologies and Chaney
Instrument Co. have developed a patented new atomic motor used in
the Atomix™ line of clocks, which has brought perfect time to the
general public, with some Atomix™ clocks retailing for less than
$30.
Atomix™ clocks
receive updates up to seven times a day via radio waves synchronized
to the official U.S. atomic clock at the NIST and Atomix™ watches
receive updates once a day. This low-frequency radio signal (60khz)
carries accurate time to all atomic clocks and watches around
the country and
automatically changes the time display for daylight savings time.
The Atomix™ line of clocks and watches also feature a deactivation
capability for states without daylight savings time.
And, in case
you’ve ever wondered why the time changes, here are some answers:
Daylight savings
time began in the United States during World War I, primarily to
save fuel by reducing the need to use artificial lighting. Although
some communities and states changed to daylight savings time between
the wars, it wasn’t observed nationally again until World War II.
The Uniform Time
Act of 1966 provided the basic framework for alternating between
daylight savings time and standard time, which is now observed in
the United States. The current system of beginning daylight savings
time at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in April and ending it at 2 a.m.
on the last Sunday in October wasn’t standardized until 1986. The
next time change will occur Sunday, April 1, 2001. Overall, the
system preserves an hour of daylight.
Coordinated
Universal Time is based on an atomic clock, which became the basis
for the international time standard in 1967. Astronomical time is
based on the rotation of the earth. Greenwich Mean Time is an
example of an astronomical time system. Since atomic clocks are
more stable than the rate at which the earth rotates, leap seconds
are needed to keep the two time scales in agreement. A leap second
is a second added to Coordinated Universal Time (a system devised in
1970 by an international advisory group) to make it agree with
astronomical time to within 0.9 second. The first leap second was
added on June 30, 1972, and they occur less than once a year.
For more on
atomic time, visit the NIST web site at:
www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/index.html
Atomix™ is a
trademark of Geneva Technologies and Chaney Instrument Company.
Geneva Technologies is an affiliate of Chaney Instrument Company, an
internationally known maker of quality timepieces and thermometers
since 1943. Based in Lake Geneva, WI with sales and purchasing
offices around the world, they are privately held and have 300
employees worldwide. For more information about the Atomix™ line of
clocks and watches Geneva Technologies, or Chaney Instrument, Co.,
visit them online at
www.atomixtime.com, or call 1-262-248-3000 x4905.
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