Slashdot Mirror
NASA Scientists Get Custom 24h39m-per-day Watches
blair1q writes "In order to more easily keep solar time on Mars, (or maybe just as a lark) JPL has ordered specially-modified mechanical watches for the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. One wonders why these literal rocket scientists didn't just get a software programmable Linux or PalmOS based wrist-computer and hack together a Mars-time display application into it?"
"One wonders why these literal rocket scientists didn't just get a software programmable Linux or PalmOS based wrist-computer and hack together a Mars-time display application into it?"
because mechanical watches are much cooler and act as a souvenir of the project. next, why don't you go ask astronauts to trade in their mission patches for a linux box with the logo as the desktop background. don't expect to be popular with them.
Why must everything on Slashdot be Linux-based?! If they were going to make a watch on a different time system to normal then wouldnt it make more sense to just build a slightly different watch? Analogue you just add a few more teeth to the gears and digital shouldn't be too hard to alter. Putting Linux on a watch is just silly.
--Muzz
it is a difficult feat of engineering. Because a mechanical watch is a combination of skill, craftmanship and beauty. Because someone said it couldn't be done. Because it is a very geeky thing to do.
Some of the mechanical watches with complications, like a perpetual calendar (keeps track of day, date and even leap year so you never have to reset the date) that has a wheel that revolves once every four years, are truly engineering marvels. Then there are tourbillons, repeaters, etc...all great feats of skill. I would buy one of these watches just for the skill involved in designing and testing it.
I would think slashdotters would understand doing something fairly "out there" just for the sake of doing it. And these are very useful. Granted useful for a small number of users, but useful nonetheless.
Now, how about a Beowulf cluster of Timex Sinclairs?
--I wouldn't buy one, but understand the reasons for having them made rather than doing what the article poster suggested: ("One wonders why these literal rocket scientists didn't just get a software programmable Linux or PalmOS based wrist-computer and hack together a Mars-time display application into it?")
.2 release for the general public.
o These are collectible items available only to NASA Mars project members (for now)
o The creation of these watches took a lot of skull-sweat on the manufacturer's part and is a great accomplishment for him
o It's a team-building device
o It's a Neat Hack(TM) - RTFA.
--That said, I wonder how these watches will hold up over time (pun intended.) IANAWatch Expert but somehow I doubt the length of a Martian second is the same as ours. A more accurate way of keeping time IMHO would be to keep the length of the second the same, and add 39 minutes worth per 24h: an "extended" 12h +19:30m watch face if you like, maybe with a colored "pie slice" for the extra time period - instead of losing seconds. FTA: ( "Past the glass cases of what looks like an ordinary jewelry store is a workshop where watches are losing 39 minutes a day." )
--But like I said, *I* don't have the skill to do this in the 1st place, and maybe he will do a rev
.
== WolfriderV6 == I'm willing to admit that *I just might* be wrong... Are you??