Results: I thought it was time I did a survey about time. But time can be linked to distance to measure speed. Gravity also has an impact. They are more related than you might think. Just ask Einstein.
Albert Einstein was a pretty bright guy who came up with the simple formula E=mc2. This may seem simple but the implications are not. His theorem changed how we look at time, distance and gravity. I will try to explain how in this series of surveys. First let's look at some of the basics of time that might be of interest to TW members starting with planet Earth..
1.
1.
Our planet Earth, its shape, rotation and how locations and time are calculated on it provide some facts that I hope you will find as interesting as I do. For example, the half way point between the North Pole and the Equator is the 45th Parallel North. Portland OR in the US and Montreal Que in Canada are places of note on this parallel. Did you know this?
Yes
20%
•
424 votes
No
56%
•
1170 votes
Undecided
10%
•
201 votes
Not Applicable
15%
•
305 votes
- no idea
- not a straight enough line
- Too far South?
2.
2.
The half way point between the South Pole and the Equator is the 45th Parallel South. Almost 97% of this line passes over water. There are no major cities on this parallel as it passes through New Zealand and the southern tip of South America. Did you know this?
Yes
19%
•
391 votes
No
58%
•
1223 votes
Undecided
8%
•
176 votes
Not Applicable
15%
•
310 votes
- It sure would.
- No
- No...most of the World is covered by water anyway.
3.
3.
The line at zero degrees longitude that runs from the north pole through the London suburb of Greenwich is called "Greenwich Mean Time" or GMT. It is also called the zero meridian. This line passes through the UK, France, Spain, Algeria and 4 other African countries before heading south to the pole. East of this line, time is GMT plus and west of this is GMT minus. 10AM where I live in Canada is 5PM where my sister lives in Scotland. Would you still make a "Happy New Year" phone call?
Yes
33%
•
684 votes
No
24%
•
506 votes
Undecided
21%
•
442 votes
Not Applicable
22%
•
468 votes
- Edmonton to Sydney Australia
- Toronto to Honolulu Hawaii 5 hours
- 7 hours
4.
4.
If you go east or west of the zero meridian you eventually reach the 180th or antimeridian. The antimeridian passes mostly across the Pacific Ocean but its use is as the basis for the International Date Line. In theory, if you step over the Date Line and back you gain or lose a day. In reality it snakes around territories of Russia, the US and New Zealand and only ships experience this phenomenon. When it is 5pm on Sunday in my town in Canada it is 11AM on Monday in Sydney Australia. Makes sense?
Yes
42%
•
877 votes
No
20%
•
420 votes
Undecided
20%
•
427 votes
Not Applicable
18%
•
376 votes
- Dateline no. Equator yes
- No
- never
5.
5.
Winter in Canada is summer time in Australia. Having Christmas dinner in Australia in the middle of summer would be confusing enough. Looking north to see the sun rise and watching it move from right to left during the course of the day would be strange to a visitor from North America. Agree?
Yes
49%
•
1021 votes
No
16%
•
337 votes
Undecided
18%
•
370 votes
Not Applicable
18%
•
372 votes
- Yes
- no thanks
- It hardly EVER snows in San Diego...where we live, so Yes.
6.
6.
The idea of GMT was to standardize time. Since then however, politicians have introduced Daylight Savings Time, 1/2 hour time zones, some change clocks spring and fall and some don't, clocks change at different times in different countries as well. Airlines, news broadcasts, businesses all have to make some sense of this. Have you been able to?
Yes
28%
•
582 votes
No
33%
•
690 votes
Undecided
20%
•
414 votes
Not Applicable
20%
•
414 votes
- Yes - they no longer need to.
- No, and they shouldn't. DST should be ended.
- yes
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