Ever wondered where the time on your phone comes from? Ever thought maybe there’s some kindly, greying scientist at work deep in a secret room full of computers and gadgets, somewhere in the world, controlling it?

Well, that’s basically it.

Dr Demetrios Matsakis is the Chief Scientist for Time Services at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington DC. Here, the time originates in a set of atomic clocks overseen by Matsakis and other scientists.

The time on your phone is the same one that syncs all forms of digital communication, including GPS, military operations, financial transactions and the internet. So that number has slightly wider importance than taking its place on the 4-inch screen in your hand.

The readings of the hundred or so atomic clocks at the USNO are collected and computed by scientists and sent out across the world. It’s enough to raise a few questions. Like what if the clocks fail? And if time comes from a machine, what even is time?

“My definition of time is that it’s a coordinate that lets us most simply understand the evolution of the universe,” Matsakis says. Cool.

Watch the video above to see him explain how it all works. [Digg]

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