From VOA Learning English, this is Science in the News.

I'm June Simms.

Our program today is about a mystery as old as time. Bob

Doughty and Sarah Long tell about the mystery of time.

If you can read a clock, you can know the time of day. But
no one knows what time itself is. We cannot see it. We
cannot touch it. We cannot hear it. We know it only by the
way we mark its passing.

For all our success in measuring the smallest parts of

time, time remains one of the great mysteries of the
universe.

One way to think about time is to imagine a world without

time. There could be no movement, because time and
movement cannot be separated.

A world without time could exist only as long as there were

no changes. For time and change are linked. We know
that time has passed when something changes.

In the real world -- the world with time -- changes never

stop. Some changes happen only once in a while, like an
eclipse of the moon. Others happen repeatedly, like the
rising and setting of the sun. Humans always have noted
natural events that repeat themselves. When people
began to count such events, they began to measure time.

In early human history, the only changes that seemed to

repeat themselves evenly were the movements of objects
in the sky. The most easily seen result of these
movements was the difference between light and
darkness.

The sun rises in the eastern sky, producing light. It moves

across the sky and sinks in the west, causing darkness.
The appearance and disappearance of the sun was even
and unfailing. The periods of light and darkness it created
were the first accepted periods of time. We have named
each period of light and darkness -- one day.

People saw the sun rise higher in the sky during the
summer than in winter. They counted the days that passed
from the sun's highest position until it returned to that
position. They counted 365 days. We now know that is the
time Earth takes to move once around the sun. We call
this period of time a year.

Early humans also noted changes in the moon. As it

moved across the night sky, they must have wondered.
Why did it look different every night? Why did it
disappear? Where did it go?

Even before they learned the answers to these questions,

they developed a way to use the changing faces of the
moon to tell time.

The moon was "full" when its face was bright and round.
The early humans counted the number of times the sun
appeared between full moons. They learned that this
number always remained the same -- about 29 suns.
Twenty-nine suns equaled one moon. We now know this
period of time as one month.

Early humans hunted animals and gathered wild plants.

They moved in groups or tribes from place to place in
search of food. Then, people learned to plant seeds and
grow crops. They learned to use animals to help them
work, and for food.

They found they no longer needed to move from one place

to another to survive.

As hunters, people did not need a way to measure time.

As farmers, however, they had to plant crops in time to
harvest them before winter. They had to know when the
seasons would change. So, they developed calendars.

No one knows when the first calendar was developed. But

it seems possible that it was based on moons, or lunar
months.

When people started farming, the wise men of the tribes

became very important. They studied the sky. They
gathered enough information so they could know when the
seasons would change. They announced when it was time
to plant crops.

The divisions of time we use today were developed in

ancient Babylonia 4,000 years ago. Babylonian
astronomers believed the sun moved around the Earth
every 365 days. They divided the trip into 12 equal parts,
or months. Each month was 30 days. Then, they divided
each day into 24 equal parts, or hours. They divided each
hour into 60 minutes, and each minute into 60 seconds.

Humans have used many devices to measure time. The

sundial was one of the earliest and simplest.

A sundial measures the movement of the sun across the

sky each day. It has a stick or other object that rises above
a flat surface. The stick, blocking sunlight, creates a
shadow. As the sun moves, so does the shadow of the
stick across the flat surface. Marks on the surface show
the passing of hours, and perhaps, minutes.

The sundial works well only when the sun is shining. So,
other ways were invented to measure the passing of time.

One device is the hourglass. It uses a thin stream of falling

sand to measure time. The hourglass is shaped like the
number eight --- wide at the top and bottom, but very thin
in the middle. In a true "hour" glass, it takes exactly one
hour for all the sand to drop from the top to the bottom
through a very small opening in the middle. When the
hourglass is turned with the upside down, it begins to mark
the passing of another hour.

By the eighteenth century, people had developed

mechanical clocks and watches. And today, many of our
clocks and watches are electronic.
Clocks were invented by the 18th century.

So, we have devices to mark the passing of time. But what

time is it now? Clocks in different parts of the world do not
show the same time at the same time. This is because
time on Earth is set by the sun's position in the sky above.

We all have a 12 o'clock noon each day. Noon is the time

the sun is highest in the sky. But when it is 12 o'clock noon
where I am, it may be 10 o'clock at night where you are.

As international communications and travel increased, it

became clear that it would be necessary to establish a
common time for all parts of the world.

In 1884, an international conference divided the world into

24 time areas, or zones. Each zone represents one hour.
The astronomical observatory in Greenwich, England, was
chosen as the starting point for the time zones. Twelve
zones are west of Greenwich. Twelve are east.

The time at Greenwich -- as measured by the sun -- is

called Universal Time. For many years it was called
Greenwich Mean Time.
Some scientists say time is governed by the movement of
matter in our universe. They say time flows forward
because the universe is expanding. Some say it will stop
expanding some day and will begin to move in the
opposite direction, to grow smaller. Some believe time will
also begin to flow in the opposite direction -- from the
future to the past. Can time move backward?

Most people have no trouble agreeing that time moves

forward. We see people born and then grow old. We
remember the past, but we do not know the future. We
know a film is moving forward if it shows a glass falling off
a table and breaking into many pieces. If the film were
moving backward, the pieces would re-join to form a glass
and jump back up onto the table. No one has ever seen
this happen. Except in a film!

Some scientists believe there is one reason why time only

moves forward. It is a well-known scientific law -- the
second law of thermodynamics. That law says disorder
increases with time. In fact, there are more conditions of
disorder than of order.

For example, there are many ways a glass can break into
pieces. That is disorder. But there is only one way the
broken pieces can be organized to make a glass. That is
order. If time moved backward, the broken pieces could
come together in a great many ways. Only one of these
many ways, however, would re-form the glass. It is almost
impossible to believe this would happen.
Not all scientists believe time is governed by the second
law of thermodynamics. They do not agree that time must
always move forward. The debate will continue about the
nature of time. And time will remain a mystery.

Im Bob Doughty.

And Im June Simms.

Winter has brought cold weather to many parts of Earths

northern hemisphere. With the cold comes a danger as old
as our knowledge of fire -- death or injury by carbon
monoxide poisoning. Today, we tell about this ancient and
continuing danger.

Two Chinese men were found dead in their hotel room in

Nepal earlier this month. A medical expert spoke to
Agence France-Presse after he had examined the bodies.
The medical examiner blamed the deaths on carbon
monoxide poisoning from a malfunctioning gas heater. A
local police official said poor air flow in the hotel room
could have been partly responsible for the deaths.

Also in December, police officers were called to a home in

the American community of Commerce City, Colorado.
They found one man dead and seven other people
suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. The seven
were taken to a hospital for treatment.
These are just two of the cases of carbon monoxide
poisoning that have been reported around the world this
month. The United States Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention estimates that carbon monoxide kills
hundreds of people every year, and sickens thousands.
The CDC notes that carbon monoxide poisoning can
happen outdoors in fresh air. It says the gas has been
linked with power-generating equipment and with engines
on houseboats.

Generators, Charcoal Grills Can Cause Carbon Monoxide-

Related Deaths

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is responsible

for protecting Americans from unreasonable risks of death
or injury from thousands of products. The commission
studies death records and estimates the number of carbon
monoxide-related deaths that could be linked to products
under its supervision. There were an estimated 146 such
deaths in 2009 -- the most recent year for which
information is available. The report says 53 percent of the
deaths involved engine-driven tools, like generators.
Heating systems were blamed for 27 percent of the
deaths. The rest of the deaths were blamed on gases from
charcoal grills, water heaters and lanterns.
A mother and child poisoned by carbon monoxide are treated in an
oxygen-rich hyperbaric chamber at a hospital in Massachusetts
Carbon monoxide poisoning is not only a problem in the
United States. It causes many deaths and injuries to
people and animals around the world.

The gas has been a problem since people first began

burning fuels to cook food or to create heat. It is a problem
in all parts of the world that experience cold weather.

Carbon monoxide is called the silent killer because people

do not know it is in the air. The gas has no color. It has no
taste. It has no smell. It does not cause a burning
sensation in the eyes. And it does not cause people to
cough. But it can be deadly. It quickly robs the body of its
ability to use oxygen.

Carbon monoxide decreases the ability of the blood to

carry oxygen to body tissues. It does this by linking with
the blood. When the gas links with the blood, the blood is
no longer able to carry oxygen to the tissues that need it.

Damage to the body can begin quickly from large amounts

of carbon monoxide. How quickly this happens depends
on the length of time a person is breathing the gas and the
amount of the gas he or she breathes in. Another
consideration is how much alcohol the person might have
had to drink.

Carbon monoxide poisoning has warning signs. But

people have to be awake to recognize them. Small
amounts of the gas will cause a persons head to hurt. He
or she may begin to feel tired. The person may feel sick.
The room may appear to be turning around. The person
may have trouble thinking clearly.

People develop head pain as the amount of gas continues

to enter their blood. They will begin to feel very tired and
sleepy. They may have stomach pain. But people who are
asleep can die from carbon monoxide poisoning before
feeling any of these symptoms.

Carbon monoxide is measured in parts per million in a

normal atmosphere. Breathing in 200 parts per million of
carbon monoxide will cause the first signs of poisoning. It
will result in head pain, stomach problems and a feeling of
tiredness after two to three hours.

A level of 800 parts per million will cause a person to lose

consciousness. Victims will not know what is taking place
around them. This will happen within two hours of
breathing in this amount of carbon monoxide. Twelve
thousand parts per million of the gas will cause death in
one to three minutes.

Adults, Children Affected Differently by Carbon Monoxide

Medical experts say carbon monoxide affects people
differently. For example, a small child will experience
health problems or die much quicker than an adult will.
The general health of the person or his or her age can
also be important.

An older adult with health problems may suffer the effects

of carbon monoxide more quickly than a younger person
with no health problems. People with heart disease may
suffer chest pains. They may begin to have trouble
breathing.

Carbon monoxide does not always cause death. But it can

cause health problems. Breathing low amounts of the gas
for long periods of time can lead to permanent damage in
the heart, lungs or brain. Experts say small amounts of
carbon monoxide over a long period of time can harm an
unborn baby.

What causes carbon monoxide gas? Any device that

burns fuels like coal, gasoline, kerosene, oil or wood can
create the gas. Water heaters that burn natural gas create
carbon monoxide. Fireplaces and stoves that burn wood
create the gas. Natural gas stoves and gas dryers or
charcoal grills also create carbon monoxide. Automobiles
create it.

Experts say the leading cause of carbon monoxide

poisoning is damaged or misused equipment that burns
these fossil fuels. Many people die or are injured by the
gas because they do not use these devices correctly. Any
device used to heat a home should be inspected to make
sure it is working correctly. And, cooking equipment like a
charcoal grill should never be used to heat an enclosed
area.

Fuel-burning devices can create carbon monoxide gas

because not all of the fuel is burned. Most devices used
for home heating have a way to expel the gas from the
home. For example, a fireplace has a chimney. Natural-
gas stoves or gas water heaters are usually connected to
a device that safely expels the gas from the home.
Automobiles also have a system for releasing unburned
fuel.

Anyone who uses a device that burns fossil fuel must

inspect the equipment carefully to reduce chances of
carbon monoxide escaping. Companies that produce the
devices usually provide directions about using the device
correctly. These directions should be read and understood
before using any equipment that burns fuel inside a home.

A small, portable gas generator can be dangerous. The

Centers for Disease Control warns that such a device can
kill within minutes when not used correctly.

You can do several things to protect yourself from the

effects of carbon monoxide. First, immediately leave the
area if you recognize the signs of carbon monoxide
poisoning in yourself or others. Seek emergency medical
services after you leave the area where you suspect the
gas might be. Usually, the treatment for carbon monoxide
poisoning involves breathing in large amounts of oxygen.
However, a doctor will know the best method to treat the
effects of such poisoning.

Carbon monoxide does not quickly leave the body, even

after treatment has begun. It can take several hours
before the gas disappears. If you suspect carbon
monoxide is a problem in your home, call local fire
officials. Firefighters may have the necessary equipment
to find or identify the gas.

Using Technology to Protect Against Carbon Monoxide

Poisoning

In many countries, it is possible to buy and use a special

device that will warn when harmful levels of carbon
monoxide are in the area. These monitors can be linked to
a homes electric system. Others are battery-powered.
Experts say these devices should be placed near sleeping
areas in the home and should be tested at least twice a
year.

The most important weapon against carbon monoxide

poisoning is the safe use of materials to heat any enclosed
area. Safety directions that come with heating equipment
must be followed. Older equipment powered by fossil fuels
should be inspected every year to make sure it continues
to be safe. Knowledge about the dangers of carbon
monoxide could be the most important information you
ever learn.

You can learn more about carbon monoxide poisoning on

our website, learningenglish.voanews.com.

This Science in the News was written by Christopher

Cruise and June Simms, who was also our producer.

Im Bob Doughty.

And Im June Simms.