2007-10-13 12:21:54 · 6 answers · asked by jose 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Geography
huh. imagine getting up in the morning at 2 a.m. with the sun shining.
everyone has a workday. we all agree what time to start work. but we don't start work when those on the other side of the planet are starting work, its time to go to bed here then.
2007-10-13 12:30:35 · answer #1 · answered by Larry W 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most answers at least partially correct. Consider that, in most locations, people want "noon" to be the time when the sun is directly overhead. This is probably because of the way Europeans colonized the world and brought their own method of telling time with them (which has become the world standard).
Thus, it would seem odd to most if, at 90 west, "noon" were to occur at sunrise.
Having determined that people want their "noon" to be "noon" and their "6 a.m." to be about when the sun rises, regions were set up so that everyone within that region would be, literally, on the same time. Time cannot be measured reliably from sunrise, so for appointments and accountability to time, time zones had to be created. Since everyone in that zone is on the "same time", there can be agreement between two parties as to the exact timing of an event - there is no need to adjust for the differences due to earth rotation and elevation. Consider that at the eastern edge of any time zone, when it is noon, it is only (by the sun) 11 a.m. at the western edge of that time zone. Every few east-west miles, the time (by the sun) is different by an entire minute! In the far north and south, it is *very* few miles between minutes!
Jim, http://www.jimpettis.com/wheel/
2007-10-13 13:24:18 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The world have times zones to have a good timing of the traveling industries.
It is caused because of the Earth's round form, the Sun doesn't hit all the Earth's surface in the same angle, making some places of the Earth darker than others.
2007-10-13 12:32:37 · answer #3 · answered by Miguel_19_from LA 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because the planet is turning. The sun does not "rise" or "set" at the same time for every part of the world.
2007-10-13 12:29:16 · answer #4 · answered by Lady Geologist 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's because of the sun going around the earth [or the earth revolving around the sun]...for example, noon is usually when the sun is highest in the sky, but it looks different from different parts of the world, so the times would be different.
2007-10-13 12:29:27 · answer #5 · answered by amanda 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
To take advantage of the daylight.
2007-10-13 15:23:11 · answer #6 · answered by Hirise bill 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋