If you live on a time zone can you straddle it so it is one hour ahead on your left side? Or is it not so precise?
2006-06-23 06:10:03 · 9 answers · asked by Mo 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Geography
When the sun comes up in Boston on the east coast, it is still pitch black in Los Angeles because the earth rotates in an easterly direction. To try to keep clocks around the world to be approximately syncronized with the sun so that sunrise and the rest of the day will occur at about the same time around the globe, "time zones" are arbitrarily created about an hour apart in which local clocks are generally shifted an hour earlier as you move towards the west. You can see where the time zone borders are by looking at a map, and although it may be difficult to learn exactly where the boundaries have been established within a foot or so, they have been defined. If you went to one of these defined locations you could actually have one foot in one hour and the other an hour away. If someone were to ask the time, you would have to ask "which time zone?".
2006-06-23 15:34:46 · answer #1 · answered by edgar c 2 · 5⤊ 1⤋
The Earth takes 24 hours to turn through 360 degrees. Divide 360 by 24 and you will get 15. There is a line of longitude every 15 degrees and the time zones follow, more or less, these meridians. Time Zones were originated in 1884 by a Canadian- Sir Sanford Fleming.
Of the 15 different time zones in the world, Canada has 6. This means that if you are in Ontario right now, and it is 4pm EST, the time in British Columbia would be 1pm PST. That is because BC is in a different time zone.
2006-06-23 06:16:45 · answer #2 · answered by goodguy_a2000 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not really, no. If you were being technical then every second of longitude would mean adding or subtracting 4 seconds to your clocks. Now that is going to get a bit tricky (especially if you are travelling from one place to another) so they decided on a rough idea of 1 hour for every 15°. That said though it is possible to straddle time zones, the most famous place is in fact South Dakota where the state is split between timezones (not too far from the capital)
2006-06-23 12:29:24 · answer #3 · answered by Harry Hayfield 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, you could certainly straddle the border and claim that one half of your body was an hour ahead of the other, but it's meaningless from a practical standpoint. It's either 11 am or 10 am; you decide which time you want to be in.
2006-06-23 06:14:28 · answer #4 · answered by Flyboy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lakmal's answer is pretty solid ...
Starting with GMT, you move every 15 degrees longitudinally to move back one hour (to the west) or forward one hour (to the east).
180 degrees from GMT is the International Date Line ... which is where you actually cross the 12 hour mark, or the halfway point in a geographical day
2006-06-23 06:29:47 · answer #5 · answered by icehoundxx 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's more of a general area than a precise point with the exception of maybe Greenwich, England.
2006-06-23 06:13:43 · answer #6 · answered by Jeremy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are designed to be precise so that you can do just what you're saying. Also they're relatively permanent -- no gerrymandering time zones, right, Tom DeLay?
2006-06-23 09:54:34 · answer #7 · answered by DR 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on whether you are facing North or South.
Time zones do not physically exist. They are societal constructs.
2006-06-23 06:20:45 · answer #8 · answered by Jimmy J 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
in order they were asked. yes. no.
2006-06-23 06:14:16 · answer #9 · answered by jason29445 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋