Universal Time (UT) is a time scale based on the rotation of the Earth. It is a modern continuation of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), i.e., the mean solar time on the Prime Meridian at Greenwich, and GMT is sometimes used loosely as a synonym for UTC. In fact, the expression "Universal Time" is ambiguous, as there are several versions of it, the most commonly used being UTC and UT1 (see below). All of these versions of UT are based on the rotation of the Earth in relation to distant celestial objects (stars and quasars), but with a scaling factor and other adjustments to make them closer to solar time.

Prior to the introduction of standard time, each municipality around the civilized world set its official clock, if it had one, according to the local position of the Sun (see solar time). This served adequately until the introduction of the steam engine, the telegraph, and rail travel, which made it possible to travel fast enough over long distances to require almost constant re-setting of timepieces as a train progressed in its daily run through several towns. Standard time, where all clocks in a large region are set to the same time, was established to solve this problem. Chronometers or telegraphy were used to synchronize these clocks.

Zachary Jake Nicholas 'Zac' Purchase MBE (born 2 May 1986) is an English rower.

Born in Cheltenham, Purchase started rowing in 1999 at the King's School, Worcester. He competed at the Junior World Rowing Championships in 2003 and 2004. In 2005 he competed on the World Cup circuit in the lightweight men's single sculls, finishing fourth at Dorney Lake and second at Munich-Oberschleissheim. Purchase became under-23 world champion at the 2005 world U-23 championships at Amsterdam, before taking silver at the 2005 World Rowing Championships at Gifu, Japan.In 2006, Purchase continued in the lightweight men's single and won his first World Cup event at Lucerne, before becoming the World Champion at the 2006 World Rowing Championships at Dorney Lake setting a new World Record.

In 2007 he partnered Mark Hunter in the Great Britain Lightweight Men's Double Scull. They medalled at each World Cup Regatta through the season. At the World Rowing Championships in Munich-Oberschleissheim they won a Bronze medal. The following year, their double dominated the lightweight event, winning all of their races, and finishing the season as Olympic champions in Beijing, setting a new Olympic Record. After a year off in 2009, he and Hunter won Gold at the 2010 World Championships at Lake Karapiro in New Zealand.

Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is a British electronic musician and composer. He founded the record label Rephlex Records in 1991 with Grant Wilson-Claridge. He was described by The Guardian as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music."

Aphex Twin has also recorded music under the aliases AFX, Blue Calx, Bradley Strider, Caustic Window, DJ Smojphace, GAK, Martin Tressider, Polygon Window, Power-Pill, Prichard D. Jams, Q-Chastic, Tahnaiya Russell, The Dice Man, Soit-P.P., and speculatively The Tuss.

Aphex Twin has released recordings on Rephlex, Warp, R&S, Sire, Mighty Force, Rabbit City, and Men Records.

Richard David James was born to Welsh parents Lorna and Derek James in St. Munchin's Limerick Regional Maternity Hospital, Ireland. He grew up in Lanner, Cornwall, enjoying, along with two older sisters, a "very happy" childhood during which they, according to James, "were pretty much left to do what [they] wanted." He "liked growing up there, being cut off from the city and the rest of the world". James attended Redruth School, located in Redruth, Cornwall.