Answer:
A
“time zone” is defined by taking the 360 degrees through which Earth
rotates in one day, and dividing it by 24, since it requires approximately 24 hours (actually 23 h 56m) to make
one revolution. Thus, one standard time zone would be generated via (360 deg/
24 hr) = 15 deg/h or 15 degrees of longitude per hour - so be 15 degrees of
longitude in expanse. Thus, time zones (calibrated per HOUR) were marked out by
LONGITUDE differences.
Time zones don’t mean anything until referenced or calibrated to a fixed position-location, and that is the Greenwich Meridian, defined as 0 degrees longitude. All longitudes west ofGreenwich mark time earlier – and all longitudes east of Greenwich mark times
later. Thus, Berlin will always have a time
later than London , and London
will have a time later than New Orleans , just as
Barbados will always have a
time earlier than London and later than Miami .
The time difference is referenced to longitude difference for the central meridians. For example, if London is at approximately 0 degrees longitude, and New Orleans is at 90 degrees west longitude, then New Orleans is earlier than London by (90 deg/ 15 deg/h) = 6 hours. If the time inLondon is noon local mean
time, then it is 6 a.m. in New Orleans .
Time zones don’t mean anything until referenced or calibrated to a fixed position-location, and that is the Greenwich Meridian, defined as 0 degrees longitude. All longitudes west of
The time difference is referenced to longitude difference for the central meridians. For example, if London is at approximately 0 degrees longitude, and New Orleans is at 90 degrees west longitude, then New Orleans is earlier than London by (90 deg/ 15 deg/h) = 6 hours. If the time in
Thus,
knowing GMT, one can always work out the local mean time at one’s location if one knows
the longitude difference relative to Greenwich .
(Note for the purposes here, I‘m taking London
as having the same longitude as Greenwich .
It's actually off by a few thousand feet but negligible in terms of
computations.)
Apparent
solar time, meanwhile, is erratic because it’s based literally on sundial time,
and what’s called the equation of time (E.T.) (See Figure 1) :
The equation of time shows the Sun is an unreliable object by which to measure precise time, given the Sun can be "fast" by as much as 18 minutes on a given day (e.g. near Nov. 1st) and "slow" - e.g. lagging by as much as 15 minutes., e.g. in February. This is why mean solar time was invented. Mean solar time is based on what we call the "mean Sun", a fictitious object which always moves at a uniform rate through the year, i.e. assumes the rate of the Earth's rotation is uniform through the year. (Thus, "Greenwich Mean Time" is based on the measurements of the "mean Sun" at the Greenwich meridian)
A more
useful way to appreciate the meaning of apparent solar time is to construct a simple shadow stick such as shown in the
diagram below (for March 21st, at Barbados), and using it to make apparent solar time measurements.
We
know that the height (H) of an object placed in direct
sunlight at local noon is related to its minimum shadow length (Ls) by:
tan (a) = H/ Ls
where (a) is the altitude of the Sun. So if H = 100 cm and Ls = 21 cm, then:
tan (a) = 100 cm / 21 cm = 4.76
And a = arc tan (4.76) = 78. o1
In fact, the actual value forBarbados
for the given date should have been 77.0 o or the zenith distance
of the Sun equal to the latitude (e.g. 90.0 o - 77.0 o = 13.0 o N). This is the precise measurement that would
denote local noon apparent solar time.
tan (a) = H/ Ls
where (a) is the altitude of the Sun. So if H = 100 cm and Ls = 21 cm, then:
tan (a) = 100 cm / 21 cm = 4.76
And a = arc tan (4.76) = 78. o1
In fact, the actual value for
Exact local (solar) mean time for any given longitude is computed via a slight adjustment to standard time. For example, if Barbados actual longitude is 59 degrees 30’ minutes W then the local mean time requires a slight adjustment equal to the time difference corresponding to 30’ of angular difference, e.g. in longitude from the 60o meridian. Since the meridian referencing Atlantic Standard time (A.S.T.) is 60 deg W and (60 deg W - 59 deg 30’ W) = 30’. This is half of a degree, and we can see then that for every degree of rotation made by the Earth there elapses an equivalent 4 minutes of time. )
Since 15 deg = 60 minutes (1 hour), then 1 degree = 60 mins/15 = 4 minutes. Similarly 30’ corresponds to 2 minutes of time. So if A.S.T. (Atlantic Standard Time) at 60 deg W is 2 p.m. then the local mean time for
Hopefully, these examples will shed light on the different types of solar time.
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