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Old 10-30-2020, 04:55 AM   #1
DaltonS
 
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Hamilton, Ont. CANADA
Default [FWIW] Terran Colonial Time

Terran colonies on other worlds would need to establish their own clocks to fit the planet's rotational period. In order to give local and Terran time units a rough dramatic (verbal) equivalence I created the following formulae:
Code:
Dt = number of Terran hours in a local day.
N  = number of hours in a local analog clock face = round(Dt/2)
Dl = number of local hours in a local day = 2*N
Ht = number of Terran minutes in a local hour = 60*Dt/Dl
Hl = number of local minutes in a local hour = floor(60/N)*N
Mt = number of Terran seconds in a local minute = 60*Ht/Hl
Ml = number of local seconds in a local minute = ceil(60/N)*N
where round/floor/ceil functions round the value to the nearest/lower/higher integer. Watches and clocks would have two display modes (Terran/local) that could easily be reset from local wireless networks.
Dalton “Do you have the time?” Spence
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Old 11-01-2020, 06:36 AM   #2
Captain Joy
 
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Default Re: [FWIW] Terran Colonial Time

That’s pretty cool.

Since the second is a defined unit of measure, like the meter or kilogram, I don’t think there would be demand for a redefined local second. I think they would simply rejigger how many seconds are in the local minute. Or, if it happened to work out more conveniently, how many 60-second minutes are in an hour.
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Old 11-01-2020, 09:14 AM   #3
DaltonS
 
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Default Re: [FWIW] Terran Colonial Time

The main point of Colonial Standard Time is so that colonists can order their days to the natural rhythm of the planet. It is also an important element in establishing a unique cultural identity for the colony. For scientific and technical matters Terran Standard Time units would still be used but on an everyday social level Colonial time would take precedence. There would also be a Colonial Calendar based on the planetary year with leap year days inserted where necessary.

While some worlds might choose to anchor their calendar on the anniversary of the colony's founding others might use a local equinox or solstice to align their calendar more comfortably with the local seasons. Local weekday/month names and week/month lengths would vary from colony to colony. Some keep traditional Terran names, others choose a numerical name system while still others select names in an arbitrary fashion, but period lengths are usually chosen to divide as evenly as possible into the calendar year. Again this is mainly an issue of Colonial Identity and can be a very political one. For interplanetary matters the Terran Standard Date would remain in use.
Dalton “So when is your birthday again?” Spence
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