A time ball is a now obsolete time signalling device. It consists of a large, painted wooden or metal ball that is dropped at a predetermined time, principally to enable navigators to verify their marine chronometers from their ships offshore. Accurate timekeeping is one means by which longitude can be determined at sea.
Read more about Time Ball: History, Time Balls Around The World
Famous quotes containing the words time and/or ball:
“Superstition saw
Something it had never seen before:
Brown eyes that loved without a trace of fear,
Beauty so sudden for that time of year.”
—Jean Toomer (1894–1967)
“The ball loved Flick.
I saw him rack up thirty-eight or forty
In one home game. His hands were like wild birds.”
—John Updike (b. 1932)
Related Phrases
Related Words