chapters 1-7 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 1 opens with this quote: "You are in the Directorate of Time. Naturally, you are running late." (Chapter 1, p. 3).

Gleick discusses the Directorate of Time and the existence of the plethora of atomic clocks based atop a hill near the Potomac River. The clocks are exquisitely precise and to ensure their precision, each is synchronized and compared to many others.

Gleick talks about a time when people relied on the revolving earth to tell time and were happy with the result. That is no longer true.

"Through most of history, time was fixed by astronomical reference points - the Earth spins once, call it a day. No more. The absolute reference as shifted from the stars to the atomic beams in their vaults. Particles are steadier than planets. Never mind the uncertainty principle it is the heavens that cannot...