- Standard time
Standard time is the result of synchronizing clocks in different geographical locations within a
time zone to the same time rather than using the local meridian as inlocal mean time orsolar time . The time so set has come to be defined in terms of offsets fromUniversal Time . (See more about standard time.)Where
daylight saving time is used, "standard time" may refer to the time without daylight saving time.History of standard time
Great Britain
A standardized time system was first used by British
railways onDecember 11 ,1847 , when they switched from local mean time toGMT . It was also given the nameRailway time reflecting the important role the railway companies played in bringing it about. The vast majority ofGreat Britain 's public clocks were being synchronised using GMT by 1855.North America
Prior to the 1883, local mean time was used throughout
North America , resulting in an inordinate number of local times. This caused convoluted regional and nationaltrain schedules.Sandford Fleming , a Canadian, proposed Standard Time at a meeting of theRoyal Canadian Institute onFebruary 8 1879 . OnOctober 11 ,1883 , the heads of the major railroads met inChicago at the formerGrand Pacific Hotel [ [http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmchuff/2300547449 Picture of plaque at the site] ] to adopt the Standard Time System. The new system was adopted by most states almost immediately after railroads did so and finally officially adopted by the U.S. government almost fifty years later.In 2007 the
United States enacted a federal law formalizing the use ofCoordinated Universal Time as the basis of standard time, and the role of theSecretary of Commerce (effectively, theNational Institute of Standards and Technology ) and the Secretary of the Navy (effectively, the U.S. Naval Observatory) in interpreting standard time. [21st Century Competitiveness Act of 2007, Section 3013. [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=h2272enr H.R. 2272: 110th CONGRESS House Bills] ,January 4 2007 .]Criticism
Standard time has been criticised by a small but vocal minority. The basis of such criticisms range from distrust of government to a belief that it disturbs
circadian rhythms, to preferring traditional, non-mechanical natural markers of time, like sunsets, noon and sunrise. [cite web|url=http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/d.html|accessdate=2007-02-26|title=Standard time began with the railroads|note="For millennia, people have measured time based on the position of the sun."]The counter-argument to circadian rhythm-based criticism is that there is no specific reason that companies and business have to open or close at a specific time.
ee also
*
Solar time
*Time zone
*Universal Time
*Standard time movement References
Further reading
*cite journal|author=Ian R. Bartky|title=The adoption of standard time|journal=Technology and Culture|volume=30|issue=1|date=1989-01|pages=25–56|url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0040-165X%28198901%2930%3A1%3C25%3ATAOST%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X|doi=10.2307/3105430
*cite journal|author=Eviatar Zerubavel |title=The standardization of time: a sociohistorical perspective|journal=The American Journal of Sociology|volume=88|issue=1|date=1982-07|pages=1–23|url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-9602%28198207%2988%3A1%3C1%3ATSOTAS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H|month=Jul|year=1982|doi=10.1086/227631
*cite web
url = http://physics.nist.gov/GenInt/Time/world.html
title = World Time Scales
accessdate = 1997-08-26
year = 2002
publisher = National Institute of Standards and Technology Physics Laboratory
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