1. Time

2.  The second is the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom.

3.  The unit of time, the second, was defined originally as the fraction 1/86 400 of the mean solar day. The exact definition of "mean solar day" was left to astronomical theories. However, measurement showed that irregularities in the rotation of the Earth could not be taken into account by the theory and have the effect that this definition does not allow the required accuracy to be achieved.  In order to define the unit of time more precisely, the 11th CGPM (1960) adopted a definition given by the International Astronomical Union which was based on the tropical year. Experimental work had, however, already shown that an atomic standard of time-interval, based on a transition between two energy levels of an atom or a molecule, could be realized and reproduced much more precisely. Considering that a very precise definition of the unit of time is indispensable for the International System, the 13th CGPM (1967) decided to replace the definition of the second by the following (affirmed by the CIPM in 1997 that this definition refers to a cesium atom in its ground state at a temperature of 0 K):

4.  A water clock or clepsydra is any timepiece in which time is measured by the regulated flow of liquid into or out from a vessel where the amount is then measured.  Water clocks, along with sundials, are likely to be the oldest time-measuring instruments. ] Where and when they were first invented is not known. The bowl-shaped outflow is the simplest form of a water clock and is known to have existed in Babylon and in Egypt around the 16th century BC. Other regions of the world, including India and China, also have early evidence of water clocks, but the earliest dates are less certain. It is claimed that water clocks appeared in China as early as 4000 BC. ]  The Greeks and Romans advanced water clock design to include the inflow clepsydra with an early feedback system, gearing, and escapement mechanism, which were connected to fanciful automata and resulted in improved accuracy. Further advances were made in Byzantium, Syria and Mesopotamia, where increasingly accurate water clocks incorporated complex segmental and epicyclic gearing, water wheels, and programmability, advances which eventually made their way to Europe. Independently, the Chinese developed their own advanced water clocks, incorporating gears, escapement mechanisms, and water wheels, passing their ideas on to Korea and Japan.  Some water clock designs were developed independently and some knowledge was transferred through the spread of trade. These early water clocks were calibrated with a sundial. While never reaching a level of accuracy comparable to today's standards of timekeeping, the water clock was the most accurate and commonly used timekeeping device for millennia, until it was replaced by more accurate pendulum clocks in 17th- century Europe.

5. A display of two outflow water clocks from the Ancient Agora Museum in Athens. The top is an original from the late 5th century BC. The bottom is a reconstruction of a clay original

6. Persian water clock - large pot full of water and a bowl with a small hole in the centre. When the bowl became full of water, it would sink into the pot, and the manager would empty the bowl and again put it on the top of the water in the pot. He would record the number of times the bowl sank by putting small stones into a jar.

7. Temperature

8.  The definition of the unit of thermodynamic temperature was given in substance by the 10th CGPM (1954) which selected the triple point of water as the fundamental fixed point and assigned to it the temperature 273.16 K, so defining the unit. The 13th CGPM (1967) adopted the name kelvin (symbol K) instead of "degree Kelvin" (symbol °K) and defined the unit of thermodynamic temperature as follows: The kelvin, unit of thermodynamic temperature, is the fraction 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water.  The triple point is the temperature and pressure at which a substance can exist in equilibrium in the liquid, solid, and gaseous states. The triple point of pure water is at 0.01 degrees Celsius

9.  Degrees Fahrenheit, (developed in the early 1700's by G. Daniel Fahrenheit), are used to record surface temperature measurements by meteorologists in the US. However, since most of the rest of the world uses degrees Celsius (developed in the 18th Century), it is important to be able to convert from units of degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Celsius :  Kelvin is another unit of temperature that is very handy for many scientific calculations, since it begins at absolute zero, meaning it has no negative numbers. The way to convert from degrees Celsius to Kelvin is:  Centigrade is an old fashioned name for Celsius. You can abbreviate it to ° C. The scale is named after Swedish scientist Anders Celsius (1701-1744).

10.  Attempts at standardized temperature measurement prior to the 17th century were crude at best. For instance in 170 AD, physician Claudius Galenus mixed equal portions of ice and boiling water to create a "neutral" temperature standard. Florentine scientists in the 1600s including Galileo constructing devices able to measure relative change in temperature,. These early devices were called thermoscopes. The first sealed thermometer was constructed in 1641 by the Grand Duke of Toscani, Ferdinand II. [ The development of today's thermometers and temperature scales began in the early 18th century, when Gabriel Fahrenheit produced a mercury thermometer and scale, both developed by Ole Christensen Rømer Fahrenheit's scale is still in use, alongside the Celsius and Kelvin scales.  Many methods have been developed for measuring temperature. Most of these rely on measuring some physical property of a working material that varies with temperature. The glass thermometer. consists of a glass tube filled with mercury or some other liquid, which acts as the working fluid. Temperature increase causes the fluid to expand, so the temperature can be determined by measuring the volume of the fluid. Such thermometers are usually calibrated so that one can read the temperature simply by observing the level of the fluid in the thermometer.  Other important devices for measuring temperature include: Thermocouples Thermistors Resistance temperature detector Pyrometer Langmuir probes (for electron temperature of a plasma) Infrared

11.  The three different temperature scales have been placed side-by-side