12.15.2009
Concordia University Texas Alumni, a Former NASA Mission Planner, Develops iPhone Application for Counter-Clockwise Time Telling
iPhone Application Stems from Previous Work at NASA to Create a Timepiece for Future Astronauts to Use While Operating on the Lunar Surface
Concordia University Texas Alumni, Christopher Leslie recently developed a Truth Timepiece iPhone application to help tell time the “correct” way. According to Leslie, the average person tells time incorrectly, an observation he made while researching a way to tell time on the moon.
“Imagine yourself suspended in outer space, above the Earth, looking down at the North Pole. You will see a sphere half lit and half dark. The Earth is spinning counter clockwise,” Leslie said.
Based on this reasoning, Leslie believes people should tell time in a counter clockwise fashion, the basis for his Truth Timepiece. And so, Leslie’s Truth Timepiece operates without the minute and second hands of a clock. Unlike a sundial, which casts a clockwise-moving shadow, this timepiece tells time by showing a disk, representing the earth, rotating counter clockwise around a stationary sun.
“To understand what time it is where you are, just look at the top of the dial where the sun touches the earth. It’s pointing to your local time. The numbers on the disk represent each line of longitude, on the earth, as it passes directly underneath the sun,“ Leslie, said.
The time it takes for the earth to rotate under the sun from one line of longitude to the next, equals one hour. There are twenty four lines of longitude on the charted globe. Twenty-four hours for the earth to rotate once.
Since the moon’s daylight period lasts two weeks, as well as its night period, Leslie needed to consider a new way for astronauts to calibrate their internal alarm clocks. By looking at this clock, astronauts can see when their families will experience night time or when those same loved ones are passing underneath the sun at noon.
“As always, we are proud of our alumni achievements,” Dr. Tom Cedel, President of Concordia University Texas, said. “We look forward to these types of accomplishments, as an extension of the work our students begin on campus, fully expecting each student to make an impact in their field of expertise.”
Leslie’s iPhone application can be purchased from iTunes stores online for $1.99, and will soon be available for non-Apple devices.
About Concordia University Texas
Concordia University Texas is an award-winning institution of higher education, with satellite centers in Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. A privately-owned, accredited, liberal arts university, Concordia is owned and operated by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. It is a member of the highly respected Concordia University System in which more than 19,000 students are enrolled nationwide. Fall 2008 showed the highest enrollment at Concordia with more than 2,200 students. The Austin Business Journal named Concordia University Texas to a recent list of “Best Places to Work.” U.S. News & World Report named Concordia University Texas to its 2007 list of “America’s Best Colleges.”
For more information, please visit www.concordia.edu
