The time isn't right

Algebra Level 3

Which has a longer duration: a decimal second, or a standard second ?

The clock in the above figure shows decimal time . In decimal time, the entire day is divided into 10 decimal hours; each decimal hour is divided into 100 decimal minutes; and each decimal minute is further divided into 100 decimal seconds.

Image Credit: Jon Knoll

Standard second Decimal second Both are equal

1 solution

Pranshu Gaba
Apr 30, 2016

There are $10 \times 100 \times 100 = 100000$ decimal seconds in a day.

There are $24 \times 60 \times 60 = 86400$ standard seconds in a day.

This means that $100000$ decimal seconds = $86400$ standard seconds.
$\implies 1$ decimal second = $0.864$ standard second.

We see that a decimal second is shorter than a standard second. $_\square$

Are decimal clocks a real thing?

Agnishom Chattopadhyay - 5 years, 1 month ago

Yes, although they never became popular, decimal clock are a real thing. The French tried to adopt decimal time during the French revolution and also during the 1890's, but without much success. You can find 10 decimal clocks in the city of Folkestone, UK, like the one shown below.

Interesting link

Pranshu Gaba - 5 years, 1 month ago

The time isn't right

Image Credit: Jon Knoll

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