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There鈥檚 no such thing as 鈥渢he correct time鈥. But there is accurate timekeeping. And since its invention in 1656, the clock has become a vital part of the modern economy.

There鈥檚 no such thing as 鈥渢he correct time鈥. Like the value of money, it鈥檚 a convention that derives its usefulness from the widespread acceptance of others. But there is such a thing as accurate timekeeping. That dates from 1656, and a Dutchman named Christiaan Huygens. In the centuries since, as Tim Harford explains, the clock has become utterly essential to almost every area of the modern economy.

Producer: Ben Crighton
Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon

(Image: A wall clock. Credit: Shutterstock)

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9 minutes

Last on

Tue 21 Feb 2017 23:50GMT

Sources and related links

Ralph Harrington

What the railways did for us, Stuart Hylton, Amberley Publishing Limited, 2015

Exeter Memories:

奥颈办颈辫别诲颈补:听

Jeremy Norman鈥檚聽HistoryofInformation.com:

The Atlantic:

timeanddate.com:

Project MUSE:

The Atlantic:

鈥婸CWorld from IDG:

The Conversation:

WIRED:


Broadcasts

  • Sat 18 Feb 2017 19:50GMT
  • Sun 19 Feb 2017 11:50GMT
  • Mon 20 Feb 2017 04:50GMT
  • Tue 21 Feb 2017 23:50GMT

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