Time is often taken for granted.

We percieve time as a linear sequence order of events caused by effects, one thing causing another on and on.

In the natural world time seems to have a cyclic nature and we organise our lives around this apparent phenomenon. We have done for thousands of years and it is very importat to us that we observe time and respect it. We plant seeds at certain times of the year, we harvest our crops at other times of the year, we go to work in the morning and finish in the eveneing, we go to sleep at night, we celebrate recurring events such as birthdays, anniversaries and religious festivals at specific intervals and times of the year. Our lives would be very complicated if we did not have the concept of time.

In order to do all of this we must be able to measure time. This sounds simple, but, as Albert Einstein was to explain, time isn't as simple as we think it is. Hopefully these pages will explain some of the concepts behind time and offer some educational value to you.

We measure the progression of time using a clock, try our interactive clock.