There are only zodiac crows left in the British Empire: they even lost Greenwich Mean Time – Universal Time Now Precise Time Protocol [videos]

A century ago, the first hourly signal was sent from the historic British Observatory in Greenwich to the BBC studios, It translated into a succession of six beeps.

That was February 5, 1924, and since then this signal has continued to tell time for decades, but then gave way to the arrival of digital.

The idea for the time signal came from the then director of the British Royal Observatory, astronomer Frank Watson Dyson, and the then head of the BBC, John Reith.

At that time, Greenwich was already an international reference point for measuring time: in 1884, the International Longitude Conference designated the longitude line passing through the dome of the Greenwich Observatory as the base line for determining the longitude of any point on the Earth's surface. Greenwich Mean Time was the reference for determining the time of events that occurred in different places.

The signal was produced by two mechanical clocks located at the observatory, whose pendulum was mounted on electrical connections, and every second they sent a signal to the British Broadcasting Corporation, which converted it into an audio signal. The use of both clocks was not necessary but was necessary to ensure continuity of service in the event that one of them broke down.

When the headquarters of the Greenwich Observatory moved to Herstmonceux Castle in 1957, the instruments were replaced by an electronic clock linked to the BBC via two lines.

The move to Cambridge in 1990, with the introduction of a computerized system linked to individual watches, also led to technical innovation. Another change was introduced in 1972 when it was decided to lengthen the duration of the sixth whistle.

However, the arrival of digital technology has brought about a radical transformation.

Then there was a technological leap and with the move to digital platforms the analog signal was marginalized.

At the same time, technology has evolved and since the mid-2000s has relied on satellite navigation or fiber optic systems. Today the reference center is the Precise Time Protocol, the protocol used to synchronize computers and mobile phones.

As a result, today anyone with a cell phone has an accurate time receiver in their pocket.

With information from ansa.it
Athens, Greece

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