The ancient Babylonians used the sexagecimal (base 60) system for counting, and were the first to measure time with any accuracy. It is just by chance that this system for measuring time (and angles) has been retained. The decimal system that we use for counting is arbitrary as well, but is much easier to use because of its base 10 notation.
I'm not going to go into technicalities, so here's a link: -
http://www.csudh.edu/oliver/smt310-handouts/babylon/babylon.htm
Regarding angles though, note that the 360 degrees of a circle can be easily divided by all the numbers up to 10 (except 7) leaving a whole number. A decimal system would have, for example, 100 degrees in a circle, which leaves fractional amounts when divided by 3, 6, 7, 8 and 9. So it does make some sense to maintain this system.
2006-06-27 00:43:45
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answer #1
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answered by Grimread 4
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Hope the following gives you enough information!
The Babylonian system of mathematics was sexagesimal (base-60) numeral system. From this we derive the modern day usage of 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 360 (60 x 6) degrees in a circle. The Babylonians were able to make great advances in mathematics for two reasons. Firstly, the number 60 is a Highly composite number, having divisors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, and 30, facilitating calculations with fractions. Additionally, unlike the Egyptians and Romans, the Babylonians had a true place-value system, where digits written in the left column represented larger values (much as in our base ten system: 734 = 7Ã100 + 3Ã10 + 4Ã1)
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The hour was originally defined in ancient civilizations (including those of Egypt, Sumeria, India and China) as either one twelfth of the time between sunrise and sunset or one twenty-fourth of a full day. In either case the division reflected the widespread use of a duodecimal numbering system. The importance of 12 has been attributed to the number of lunar cycles in a year, and also to the fact that humans have 12 finger bones (phalanges) on one hand (3 on each of 4 fingers). (It is possible to count to 12 with your thumb touching each finger bone in turn.) There is also a widespread tendency to make analogies among sets of data (12 months, 12 zodiacal signs, 12 hours, a dozen).
The Ancient Egyptian civilization is usually credited with establishing the division of the night into 12 parts, although there were many variations over the centuries. Astronomers in the Middle Kingdom (9th and 10th Dynasties) observed a set of 36 decan stars throughout the year. These star tables have been found on the lids of coffins of the period. The heliacal rising of the next decan star marked the start of a new civil week, which was then 10 days. The period from sunset to sunrise was marked by 18 decan stars. Three of these were assigned to each of the two twilight periods, so the period of total darkness was marked by the remaining 12 decan stars, resulting in the 12 divisions of the night. The time between the appearance of each of these decan stars over the horizon during the night would have been about 40 modern minutes. During the New Kingdom, the system was simplified, using a set of 24 stars, 12 of which marked the passage of the night
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Originally, the second was known as a "second minute", meaning the second minute (i.e. small) division of an hour. The first division was known as a "prime minute" and is equivalent to the minute we know today.
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2006-06-27 08:13:15
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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Probably the Babylonians, same goes for the second
Minute
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This article is about the unit of time, angle and right ascension. For the document in which the proceedings of a court or a meeting are recorded, see minutes.
A minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour and to 60 seconds. (Some rare minutes have 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second.) For scientific purposes, the minute is a unit of time approximately equal to 1/1600th of a day, or 54 seconds (more specifically, 53.9121 seconds). Known as the natural minute to differentiate it from conventional minutes. It is equal to 1045 Planck times.
In geometry, a minute is a unit of angle, 1/60th of a degree. It is then also known as a minute of angle or minute of arc, and can further be divided into 60 seconds of arc.
In astronomy, the minute is a unit of angle and time, 1/60th of an hour of right ascension. It is then known as the minute of right ascension, and can be further divided into 60 seconds of right ascension.
The symbol for a minute of time (or of right ascension) is min.
The symbol for a minute of arc is a prime (′). For example, fifteen minutes could be written 15′. However, more commonly an apostrophe, or single quote (U+0027), is used.
The Earth turns on its polar axis through fifteen minutes of arc in every minute of time. A minute of arc at the Earth's equator is approximately a nautical mile.
An hour likely contains 60 minutes due to influences from the Babylonians, who used a base-60 counting system.
2006-06-27 07:44:30
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answer #3
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answered by Jeff J 4
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Babilonians
2006-06-27 07:38:00
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answer #4
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answered by ahmed fairplay 4
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I know that there are 60 second in a minute because my clock tells me so.
2006-06-27 11:25:39
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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well look at the face of a clock the genius knew he had to divide into equal spaces to make sense and it was divisible by sixty
2006-06-27 07:47:18
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answer #6
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answered by Anonymous
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The Chinese Did when the Sundial become obsolete
2006-06-27 07:40:57
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answer #7
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answered by x_cybernet_x 4
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Father time himself decided, just to piss people off because he knew that decimal time would be easier to work out.
2006-06-27 07:37:42
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answer #8
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answered by badgerbeetle 3
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Mr. Time. The sand man.
2006-06-27 07:38:53
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answer #9
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answered by Anonymous
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A doughnut
2006-06-27 07:38:24
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answer #10
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answered by Ollie 7
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