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Terry is inspecting a huge clock. It’s 2:12 and they just finished examining the big hand.

You probably know that half of 12 is six. But the other day, I caught a glimpse of a clock peeking between buildings. At that moment, I noticed that sometimes, half of 12 is seven. How is this possible?

Time keeping machines aren’t always built to last, but some do manage to stand the test of time. The Cronulla Clock Tower houses a clock that’s almost 250 years old, for example; the clock in England’s Salisbury Cathedral is still ticking 630 years after it was built.

It’s a question that millions of people ask every day: ‘What’s the time?’ Knowing the time is an essential part of everyday life and important to scientific research as well.

A clock that lasts forever, without batteries or winding up, sounds like something from science fiction. Right now, that’s the case. But a research team led by scientists in the USA thinks it might actually to be possible to make such a device.