Living Clocks: Circadian Systems as Unforgeable 24-Hour Time Anchors

Circadian rhythms are endogenous biological oscillators that regulate physiological and behavioralprocesses across a wide range of organisms. Unlike electronic clocks, circadian systems do not merelytrack external time signals; they integrate environmental cues over extended intervals and exhibitintrinsic phase inertia. This paper examines circadian systems as temporal anchors for distributedsystems, emphasizing their resistance to replay and instantaneous manipulation. We argue thatcircadian phase and entrainment history provide evidence of sustained temporal exposure that cannotbe forged retroactively through signal synthesis or replay. By modeling circadian clocks as rate-limited,hysteretic oscillators, we show how they can serve as unforgeable 24-hour references that complementelectronic timekeeping and other biological or chemical time constants.