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Clocks that keep
pace with Father Time (and Mother Nature, too)
You can’t exactly beat Mother Nature or Father Time,
but now you can keep pace with them a little more easily with clocks
that automatically update for Daylight Saving Time and desktop
weather stations that give you weather reports for your area.
Frequently referred to as “atomic clocks” or
“radio-controlled” clocks, these timepieces operate like any
ordinary quartz clock. Thanks to the addition of a small radio
receiver and a microchip, these clocks synchronize every day via a
radio signal to the official U.S. atomic clock maintained by the
National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo.,
and they automatically “spring forward” and “fall back” for daylight
saving time changes. So, they don’t lose time and you save time.
Two products from Chaney Instrument Company
incorporate this technology in devices that make life simpler. The
company’s line of Atomix clocks makes having the right time in your
kitchen or bedroom easier and more reliable than ever before. While
some Atomix clocks have sleek, modern designs, including digital
alarms with metallic cases, the brand also offers a complete line of
traditional dial wall clocks that conceal their technologically
advanced capabilities. Ranging from $25 to $50, these clocks do the
work for you at an affordable price.
To make your life even more predictable during the
spring and summer months, try an at-home weather station. The Acu-Rite
Weather and Atomic Time Station combine radio-controlled atomic time
with an in-home temperature monitoring system. This savvy little
device gives you the day, date and precise time in hours, minutes
and seconds as well as the temperature for up to three remote
locations. So, in addition to knowing the outdoor temperature, you
also can monitor temperatures in the attic and basement. The monitor
also displays the temperature of the area around the sensor itself
and includes a temperature trend indicator. The basic set includes a
desktop monitor and one remote sensor that can be placed up to 100
feet away from the monitor for about $24. Additional sensors are
sold separately.
Atomix products are available at Wal-Mart, ShopKo,
and Restoration Hardware. Acu-Rite weather stations are available at
mass merchants and at a variety of hardware stores. The model with
atomic time will be available in time for Father’s Day. For more
information on Atomix and Acu-Rite products go to
www.chaneyinstrument.com.
Courtesy of ARA Content
EDITOR'S NOTE: Atomix is a trademark of Chaney
Instrument Company, maker of quality timepieces and thermometers
since 1943. For interviews or product reviews, contact the
Marketing Communications Department, Chaney Instrument
Company, at 262.248.4449, or press@primex-inc.com.
Editors, please note: the name of the company is
Chaney Instrument (singular) and the Web site is
www.chaneyinstrument.com (singular).
Sidebar:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is
an official agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, whose
earliest work in the area of time and frequency took place in the
early 1900s with a very stable pendulum clock. The first atomic
clock was developed in 1949. The agency began broadcasting the time
and frequency standard via radio in 1923 to meet the growing need
for standards in the broadcast industry.
Precise time
synchronization has many uses that affect our everyday life.
Absolute synchronization is necessary for high speed communication
systems, synchronizing television feeds, calculating bank transfers,
and transmitting everything from e-mail to sonar signals in a
submarine. Power companies use precise time to regulate power system
grids and reduce power losses.
Scientific
organizations such as NASA depend on reliable and consistent time
measurement for projects such as interplanetary space travel.
Fractional disparities in times between a space probe and tracking
stations on Earth can dramatically affect the position of
spacecraft. Precise time measurements are also essential to radio
navigation systems like the U.S. Government’s Global Positioning
System (GPS). By synchronizing the satellite clocks within
nanoseconds of each other, it is possible for a receiver on Earth to
identify its position within a few meters.
For more
information on the NIST Time and Frequency Division, go to
www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/.
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