Ask questions via twitter! Message any question to @answers on twitter. We'll publish the question and send you a reply each time there's a new answer.
Next Question

Answered Question

girldrumm... girldrumm...
 
January 06, 2009 05:44 AM

Why isn't there a metric version of time keeping?

All you have to do is prepare payroll to know how much metric hours and days would simplify things. This is an offbeat question, a little silly, but with a kernal of truth.
Interesting Question?  Yes (0)   No (0)   
RSS
 
 

Best Answer  Chosen by Asker

steepdecli... steepdecli...
 
 January 06, 2009 07:29 AM
You might be interested to learn (i was) that Swatch came up with a variation of metric time, or internet time, by which everyone around the world would be at the same time, or "beat". It also happens to be somewhat decimal friendly as it is based on 1000 beats in a day.

Swatch Internet Time was a decimal time concept introduced in 1998 and marketed by the Swatch corporation as an alternative, decimal measure of time. One of the goals was to simplify the way people in different time zones communicate about time, mostly by eliminating time zones altogether.
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatch_Internet_Time

Asker's Rating:
• There were good answers, but this one went beyond a quick answer to a fun and fascinating story. Thanks for telling me about Swatch time!


Helpful Answer?  (2)   (0)    Tip steepdecline for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 

Other Answers (3)

Sort By
answerman answerman
 
January 06, 2009 05:51 AM
I'm fairly sure scientists use things like: nanoseconds, kiloseconds, megaseconds, and 5.7E-47 seconds all of the time.

Helpful Answer?  (2)   (0)    Tip answerman for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
theeskimo theeskimo
 
January 06, 2009 05:04 PM
Normal time is metric time. The SI unit for time is seconds, and, like answerman said, you can use prefixes like nano, kilo, etc. If you were using metric time, you would technically not use minutes or hours, just seconds.

Helpful Answer?  (0)   (0)    Tip theeskimo for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
whiskeybra... whiskeybra...
 
January 07, 2009 02:31 PM
The Second was effectively made "metric" in 1967 when it's definition was broken away from the solar day or the year and tied to atomic phase transitions. It is now precisely defined as:

"the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom"

But I get your point. It is somewhat odd that the SI did not truly redefine time units that are commonly used.
Source(s):
http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/second.html


Helpful Answer?  (0)   (0)    Tip whiskeybravo for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 

Answer this Question

How tips and payments work

This question has already been resolved. You may add an answer to it but you will not be eligible to win best answer or any associated tips.

Related Questions

View All Science & Mathematics Questions

Ask a Question


140 characters left
Top of Page
Buy Mahalo Dollars with Credit Card or PayPal

Top Members

This Week All Time
  • buddawiggi
    buddawiggi
    2nd Degree Black Belt
    26935 Points
    M$783.09 Earned
  • kty2777
    kty2777
    Purple Belt with a Brown Tip
    5400 Points
    M$199.92 Earned
  • opher
    opher
    Purple Belt
    4132 Points
    M$185.92 Earned
   See All
 

Most Popular Tags

mahalo(1592)
twitter(945)
iphone(462)
music(459)
google(355)
food(316)
internet(304)
online(293)
beer(278)
money(262)
movies(255)
facebook(253)
apple(251)
aotd(235)
answers(221)
health(217)
video(205)
dog(204)
free(202)
windows(196)
   See All
 

Categories

Welcome New Members


 
 
Mahalo Dollars are the currency of Mahalo Answers.

Each Mahalo Dollar costs $1.

Once you earn more than 40 Mahalo Dollars, you can request to be paid via PayPal. Each Mahalo Dollar is currently worth $0.75 when paid out via PayPal. Learn More

 
 

Please log in to use this function.

Answers Home | Ask a Question | Earn Points | How Tips Work | Widget