Appendix

TIMEKEEPING ORGANISATIONS
International organisations
Several organisations share the responsibility for the world timekeeping system. They all have websites, some of which contain extensive
resources on timekeeping.
Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM)
BIPM is custodian of all the worlds units of measurement, and since
1988 has been responsible for the formation of the TAI and UTC time
scales. The Bureaus monthly Circular T, which publishes corrections
to UTC disseminated by the national timing centres, can be downloaded
from the website.
Address: Time Section, BIPM, Pavillon de Breteuil, F-92312 S`evres,
France.
Website: http://www.bipm.fr
International Earth Rotation Service (IERS)
Created in 1988 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), the IERS maintains terrestrial and celestial reference frames and monitors the Earths
rotation. It is responsible for deciding when a leap second is required to
maintain UTC close to UT1. The website gives access to a vast amount
of data on Earth orientation, including the various Bulletins.
Address: International Earth Rotation Service, 61 avenue de
lObservatoire, F-75014 Paris, France.
Website: http://hpiers.obspm.fr
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International Astronomical Union (IAU)

The IAU was founded in 1919 to promote and coordinate worldwide cooperation in astronomy. It no longer plays a central role in timekeeping
but still maintains a Time Commission which supervises the work of the
IERS.
Address: International Astronomical Union, 98bis Bd. Arago, F-75014
Paris, France.
Website: http://www.iau.org
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
The ITU is an international organisation within which governments and
the private sector coordinate global telecom networks and services. It is
responsible for the international agreements that define UTC in terms of
TAI.
Address: International Telecommunication Union, Place des Nations,
CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland.
Website: http://www.itu.int

National organisations
Many countries have national timing laboratories: the following are just
a few that have been mentioned in this book, including all those operating primary frequency standards which contribute to TAI.
Communications Research Laboratory (CRL), Japan
Founded as the Radio Research Laboratory in 1952 but with roots reaching back to 1896, CRL operates a new optically pumped primary standard, CRL-O1, based on the design of NIST-7 and controls the time
signals emitted from radio stations JG2AS and JJY.
Address: Communications Research Laboratory, 4-2-1, Nukuikitamachi, Koganei-shi, Tokyo 184, Japan.
Website: http://www.crl.go.jp

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Institute of Metrology for Time and Space (IMVP), Russia

IMVP operates the caesium beam standard MCsR-102 and a series of
time and frequency radio stations including RBU and RWM.
Address: IMVP, GP VNIIFTRI, Mendeleevo, Moscow Region,
141570, Russia.
Institute for National Measurement Standards (INMS), Canada
The INMS, a laboratory of the National Research Council of Canada,
operates two caesium beam standards known as CsVI-A and CsVI-C. It
also controls the radio station CHU.
Address: Institute for National Measurement Standards, Montreal Road,
Building M-36, Ottawa, Canada, K1A 0R6.
Website: http://www.nrc.ca/inms/inmse.html
Laboratoire Primaire du Temps et des Frequences (LPTF), France
One of the five national laboratories of the Bureau National de
Metrologie (BNM), LPTF is responsible for the French time and
frequency standards. It operates the worlds first caesium fountain,
LPTF-FO1, which is the most accurate primary standard to date.
Address: BNM-LPTF, Observatoire de Paris, 61 avenue de lObservatoire,
F-75014 Paris, France.
Website: http://opdaf1.obspm.fr
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), USA
Founded as the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in 1901, NIST
hosts the primary standards NIST-7 and NIST-F1 and controls radio
stations WWV, WWVH and WWVB. Much of the pioneering research
into atomic clocks was carried out at NBS and the first atomic clock,
based on a transition in ammonia, was constructed there in 1948.
Address: National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway,
Boulder, CO 80303-3328, USA.
Website: http://www.bldrdoc.gov/timefreq

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TIMEKEEPING ORGANISATIONS

National Physical Laboratory (NPL), UK

NPL is the UK national standards laboratory, where the worlds first
operational caesium clock was constructed in 1955. It controls the radio
station MSF.
Address: National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex TW11
0LW, UK.
Website: http://www.npl.co.uk
National Research Laboratory of Metrology (NRLM), Japan
Now part of the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, NRLM
has been the national standards laboratory of Japan since 1903. It operates NRLM-4, an optically pumped caesium beam standard.
Address: National Research Laboratory of Metrology, 1-1-4, Umezono,
Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8563, Japan.
Website: http://www.aist.go.jp/NRLM
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Germany
PTB is Germanys national standards laboratory. In the 1930s PTB
scientists were among the first to discover seasonal changes in the Earths
rotation and they now operate the worlds most reliable primary frequency standards. PTB also runs radio station DCF-77.
Address: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Postfach 3345, D38023 Braunschweig, Germany.
Website: http://www.ptb.de
United States Naval Observatory (USNO), USA
USNO plays a leading role in both astronomical and atomic timekeeping,
and operates the worlds largest ensemble of atomic clocks. In the 1950s
USNO astronomers collaborated with NPL scientists to calibrate the
atomic second in terms of Ephemeris Time.
Address: United States Naval Observatory, 3450 Massachusetts Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20392-5420, USA.
Website: http://tycho.usno.navy.mil

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Other websites about timekeeping

Science Museum (http://www.nmsi.ac.uk/collections/
/exhiblets/atomclock/start.htm)
Properly known as the National Museum of Science and Industry, the
London Science Museum is the final resting place of the first operational
caesium clock designed by Essen and Parry at NPL.
Royal Observatory Greenwich (http://www.rog.nmm.ac.uk)
The Royal Greenwich Observatory is no more but its legacy is preserved
at the old Royal Observatory in Greenwich which is part of the National
Maritime Museum, along with much of interest to do with timekeeping.
Long Now Foundation (http://www.longnow.org)
Information about the project to build a monumental clock to last 10 000
years.
GPS (http://www.laafb.af.mil/SMC/CZ/homepage)
Control centre for the US satellite navigation system.
GLONASS (http://mx.iki.rssi.ru/SFCSIC/
/english.html)
Control centre for the Russian satellite navigation system.
Time around the world (http://www.timeanddate.com and
http://www.worldtime.com)
Two sites which can tell you the local time for any place in the world.
Horology (http://www.horology.com)
A guide to many web-based resources about timekeeping.