Waves

奇妙的1188

Backward / Forward movements of time in the UK

When?
1) In the UK, we all change our clocks and watches by one hour, twice a year.
• Last Sunday in March
We add an hour and go onto what is called British Summer Time (BST).
• Last Sunday in October
We put our clocks back one hour and adhere to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

2) Clocks move backwards one hour.
Sunday 25 October 02:00 BST changed to 01:00 GMT.

Why?
- to save mornings light in during the summer
We've been changing our clocks forwards and backwards in the UK since 1916. It's all to do with saving the hours of daylight, and was started by a man called William Willett, a London builder, who lived in Petts Wood in Kent (near our school).
William Willett first proposed the idea of British Summer Time in 1907 in a pamphlet entitled 'The Waste of Daylight'. Willett had noticed that the summer mornings light was wasted while people slept, and that the time would be better utilised in the afternoon by putting the clocks forward. After campaigning for years the British Government finally adopted the system a year after Willett's death.

Other countries?
European Union - Most countries change their clocks on the last Sundays of March and October.
North America and most of Canada on the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November.
Egypt, Namibia and Tunisia are the only African countries who observe daylight saving.
New Zealand and parts of Australia are the only countries in Oceania that currently put their clocks forwards and backwards.

Source: http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/clocks.htm

New flying reptile fossils found

Researchers in China and the UK say they have discovered the fossils of a new type of flying reptile that lived more than 160 million years ago.

The find is named Darwinopterus, after famous naturalist Charles Darwin.

Experts say it provides the first clear evidence of a controversial type of evolution called modular evolution.

The 20 new fossils found in north-east China show similarities to both primitive and more advanced pterosaurs, or flying reptiles.

The research is published in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Missing link

Pterosaurs, sometimes called pterodactyls, were flying reptiles that flourished between 65 and 220 million years ago.

Darwinopterus could offer evidence of modular evolution
Until now, scientists had known about two distinct groups of these creatures - primitive, long-tailed pterosaurs and more advanced short-tailed ones, separated by a huge gap in the fossil record.

But the discovery of more than 20 new fossil skeletons in north-east China could be the missing link in this evolutionary chain.

Darwinopterus is a hawk-like reptile with a head and neck just like advanced pterosaurs - but the rest of the skeleton is similar to more primitive forms.

Researchers say that this could be evidence of what they call modular evolution - where natural selection forces a whole series of traits to change rapidly rather than just one.

With its long jaws and rows of sharp-pointed teeth, these creatures were very well suited to catching and killing other flying species.

The fossils were found in rocks that are 160 million years old, making them 10 million years older than the first bird, Archaeopteryx.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8306060.stm, 14/10/2009