The following is a proposal for an entire system of measurement of time, following the metric ideal of units divisible by ten to the maximum extent possible. In designing this system, the following points were considered:
and the following system is planned to accomodate these principles.
A terrestial day is defined as the length of time the earth requires to complete one revolution. Currently, a day is subdivided into twenty-four hours, each hour being further divided into 60 minutes and each minute into 60 seconds. The international standard system of SI units defines a second of time 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 133Cs atom." (This definition was made to precisely state the unit of time interval. The characteristic frequency of this cesium atom just happens to match the less formal, less precise historical 1/60 1/60 1/24 of the earth's rotation.)
A solar year is defined as the length of time the earth requires to complete one orbit around the sun. Currently, a year is subdivided into fifty-two weeks, each week being divided into seven days. The year is also divided into twelve unequal months, they being 28, 30 or 31 days long, this primarily being an acknowledgement of the importance of the lunar cycle.
A solar year is approximately equal to 365 terrestial days. Since the earth progresses forward about 1/360th of a solar year during the course of each terrestial day, the sun appears as if the earth has completed a rotation earlier than it actually does. That is, for two successive days in a row (exactly 24 hours long) the apparent position of the sun in the sky will be one degree of arc further progressed on the second day as compared to the first. Put another way, since the earth revolves once in 24 hours, it revolves 1º in 4 minutes of time. Thus, the sun appears in the same relative position to an observer on earth 23 hours and 56 minutes later from one day to the next. This extra bit of time adds up to about one-quarter of a terrestial day each solar year--the calendar based on 365 days begins to slip compared to the movement of the planet.
To correct for this, leap year is added. Every fourth year a special day is added to the last day of February. This correction is slighty too much, by about 3 days every 400 years. Therefore, leap year occurs every year divisible by 4, except those years also divisible by 100. And further, leap year does occur on those years divisible by 400 (despite their also being divisible by 100).
A metric day is defined as the length of time required for the earth to make one revolution, and it is sub-divided into 25 metric hours. Each metric hour is further divided into 100 metric minutes and each metric minute is divided into 100 metric seconds. The comparison is as follows:
Traditional: 60 × 60 × 24 = 86,400 seconds/day
Metric: 100 × 100 × 25 = 250,000 metric seconds/day
This means that 1 metric second = 0.3456 second, or roughly a metric second is about one-third of a traditional second. (1 second equals 2.8935 metric seconds.)
Likewise,
Traditional: 60 × 24 = 1440 minutes/day
Metric: 100 × 25 = 2500 metric minutes/day
or 1 metric minute = 0.576 minutes = 34.56 seconds. That is, a metric minute is about half as long as a traditional minute. (1 minute equals 1.7361 metric minutes.)
Finally,
Traditional: 24 hours/day
Metric: 25 metric hours/day
stipulates that 1 metric hour = 0.96 hour = 57.6 minutes. For the most part, few will notice over the run of an hour the absence of slightly less than 2½ minutes. In fact, many may actually enjoy the feeling of having one whole "extra" hour at the end of each day!
The metric second will be defined in terms of a physically constant event, such as the cesium atom presently used. In this case one metric second becomes the duration of 3,176,973,539.712 periods of the radiation of the cesium atom. Of course, a more convenient standard may be located.
From the viewpoint of most people, a metric second one third as long as a traditional second will not be a major inconvenience. To those literally using a second, it is typically a long period of time. For everyday uses (e.g., setting the microwave oven) a simple tripling will suffice. For strict record keeping, more accurate measurements will be possible.
All clocks will need to be redesigned. Digital clocks, which are quite common, will require the least redesign and the multiple 100's of subunits will be handy. The hours in a day still requires two digits at most. Analog clocks will have to undergo a significant change, however this will not be impossible to engineer. For the most part, the twelve-hour clock will be supplanted by a twenty-five hour clock, patterned after the twenty-four hour clock now common in various parts of the world. Colloquially, many will still refer to "a.m." and "p.m." and this will in fact not pose a major inconvenience. Noon will occur at 12:00, or a half-hour (50 metric minutes) prior to the midway point through the day. Nonetheless, usages of the word noon do not strictly require the sun to be half-way through its daily traverse, for in fact it already is not so. Given the instances of time zones, daylight savings times, etc., it is a rare occurrence indeed to find the sun directly overhead at "noon." In the evenings, "midnight" will not occur one minute after 11:59 p.m.; instead it will occur one metric minute after 12:99 p.m. A great many people currently retire for the evening by 11:00 p.m. and so will rarely notice the difference; even the terminology "12:15 p.m., (etc.) is in use to refer to minutes after midnight. The difference is that there will exist a "13:15 p.m." ... or more likely, a "00:15" (p.m. not being required to be stated).
I've collected three alternative proposals for a Metric Year. Each strives to make a uniform, repetitive cycle out of the naturally occurring phenomena of the year. The primary differences are the proposals are based on different lengths of weeks, with options for
days in each week.Proposal One
The metric year will be divided into thirteen metric months, each consisting
of twenty eight days (four weeks, each seven days long). This produces
13 × 4 × 7 = 364 days,
to which added one special day known as New Year's Day. This day falls between December 28th and January 1st every year and does not occupy a day of the week. It is an international holiday. Likewise, Leap Day is an international holiday which does not occupy a day of the week.
A new month is required, and it is named Solaris, in honor of the sun. The month of Solaris falls between July and August. Leap Day occurs every year that is divisible by four, except that it skipped on years divisible by 100 but not 400. Leap Day falls between July 28th and Solaris 1st.
This calendar allows each month to begin on Sunday the 1st, have four weeks exactly, and end on Saturday the 28th. Traditional calendars are obsolete at the end of each year in the present system; adoption of a metric year concept would include a period of time when calendars are prepared with both the new and old dates printed on them.
Proposal Two
The metric year will be divided into twelve months, each consisting
of thirty days. A week is defined as eight days, and there are 3 ¾
weeks in each month. This produces
12 × 3.75 × 8 = 360
to which is added one special day known as New Year's Day and four New Season's Days. Each week is expanded from the tradional by the addition of a new day between Saturday and Sunday. This day is tentatively named Neweekday. In many industrialized countries the work week will typically become Monday through Friday plus a half-day Saturday; the balance of Saturday plus the two days Neweekday and Sunday will constitute the weekend. In most developing countries weekends are barely recognized in commerce as is; this system will expand what is often a one- or one-half day cessation of work to a one and a half- to two-day break. In any event, the total number of days in a year remains constant; workers and employers will adjust to working different pay periods as required.
In many venues today in the services and retail trades, business open hours go far beyond the traditional Monday to Friday daylight limits. In agrarian societies work occurs when nature, crops, or livestock demands it be done. The biggest noticeable impact is likely to be an apparent expansion in the number of work days available, leading to opportunites to offer employment to more workers. This will be welcomed in many industrialized societies.
New Year's Day occurs on the day of the winter solstice (the southernmost point of the sun's earth trace) and is an international holiday which does not occupy a day of the week. It is followed by Winter's Day, which is a lesser holiday also not occupying a day of the week and officially the first day of January. The day after this is Neweekday, January 1st. February begins 30 days later on Friday, February 1st; continuing this pattern March begins on Wednesday.
The day following Sunday, March 30th (which will occur on the vernal equinox--northbound equator crossing of the sun) will be Spring Day, and not occupy a day of the week. It will be a lesser holiday, observed in passing but typically remaining a day of usual commerce. April technically begins on on Summer's Day, which is followed by Monday the 1st. May begins on Neweekday, and June on Friday.
The day following Tuesday, June 30th (which will occur on the summer solstice) will be Summer's Day, not a day of the week, the first day of July, and followed by Wednesday July 1st. Then August begins on Monday, and September on Neweekday. Next comes the first day of October, Autumn Day (the equinox), followed by Friday October 1st. November begins on Wednesay and December on Monday. Thus the year ends on Saturday, December 30th, which is followed by New Year's Day again then Neweekday the first of January.
Leap Day occurs every year that is divisible by four, except that it skipped on years divisible by 100 but not 400. Leap Day falls between June 30th and July 1st. Like New Year's Day, Leap Day is an international holiday which does not occupy a day of the week.
This calendar allows each month to begin on the same day of the week each year. Traditional calendars are obsolete at the end of each year in the present system; adoption of a metric year concept would include a period of time when calendars are prepared with both the new and old dates printed on them.
A comparision calendar is offered showing the traditional (current calendar) dates of the year compared with metric year proposals one and two.
For a little historical background on time measurement and devices, here's a few pieces from the Royal Greenwich Observatory in Greenwich, England.
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