Why must time be measured so precisely?
Precise time synchronization has many uses in everyday life. Synchronization between two or more locations is necessary for high speed communication systems, synchronizing television feeds, calculating bank transfers, and transmitting everything from email to sonar signals in a submarine. Power companies use precise time to regulate power system grids and reduce power losses. Radio and television stations require both precise time-of-day and frequency in order to broadcast programs.Precise time measurements are also essential for accurate navigation and the support of communications on earth and in space. 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 positions of spacecraft. Precise time measurements are also essential to radio navigation systems like the Global Positioning System (G
