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Timelines

© Patrice Bentham

What is a timeline? A timeline, simply put, is a chart of events. A timeline puts time in order. It can cover a very long period or a very short period of time. Timelines can be linear or comparative. They allow one to organize events in the order in which they happen and to see the relationship between an event and events that have come before. Let's investigate some timelines.

The ThinkQuest site Astronomy features an astronomy timeline dating from pre-1600 to the present. The first entry is 2500 B.C, Stonehenge used to predict an eclipse of the moon. The last entries are 1997 and 1998 with the Pathfinder landing on Mars and the Lunar Prospector landing on the Moon. You can read how astronomy developed or progressed between those three events by following the timeline.

How about going on a Cosmic Mystery Tour? According to the web site, cosmology is the field of science that studies the universe as a whole -- its entire history and all it contains. The cosmic timeline starts at zero (Big Bang) to the modern universe (12-15 billion years later). Each major event on the timeline is accompanying by a short commentary explaining what took place during that phase of the development of the universe. The PBS site Mysteries of Deep Space, features an interactive timeline of space. There are more stops on this timeline. It also starts with the Big Bang but reaches into the future, giving us a glimpse of what scientists think the universe will be like trillions of years from now.

Don't think timelines can only be used for astronomy or space. Look at Nuclear Age Timeline. As stated in the introduction, this timeline traces the nuclear age from the discovery of x-ray and radioactivity right up until 1993. It intertwines history with major nuclear events, which helps with the understanding.

For anyone interested in microbiology, the American Society for Microbiology has a timeline of significant events of the last 125 years. It starts in 1861 (with Pasteur) and ends in 1995. There are plenty of references given for further study. It is an ongoing project with suggestions for corrections and/or additions welcomed.

The American Physical Society's web site A Century of Physics is a well done, easy to navigate, informative site. The timeline starts at the end of the nineteenth century. There are pictures accompanying the text, making it more interesting. Again, some history is included to give one the context in which these events are occurring.

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