The Hex Clock

[Lightkeeper]

The Hexclock
The clock is the perfect place to start changing the decimal paradigm, because it is something we all look at several times a day, and it is one of the most illogical devices in want of fixing.

The Hexclock arranges time in a more consistent and logical manner than our present clock. Instead of dividing the day into arbitrary divisions (twenty-four hours in a day, sixty minutes in an hour, etc.), the Hexclock represents time of day as a single hexadecimal number. A Hexclock displaying three digits gives even better resolution than a standard clock, which displays a digit (or two) for the hour and two for the minutes. If you watch the clocks above, you will see that the Hexclock increments about three times as often as the standard clock.


Hex time is expressed as a hexadecimal fraction (from 0 to 1) showing how much of the day has passed. When used for measurements or scientific calculations, hex time can be represented with as many digits as desired for the sake of precision (e.g. noon could be expressed as .800000). When representing hex time in its standard notation, however, contemporary readers may find it convenient to think of time in terms of hours, minutes, and seconds. For the sake of accessibility, the leftmost digit of hex time is called the hexhours, the next two digits are referred to as hexminutes, and the fourth digit designates hexseconds.

It is customary to separate hexhours, hexminutes, and hexseconds using an underscore (e.g. noon would be written as 8_00). This idea was first implemented by Pete Boardman, who realized that using a colon would cause too much confusion with conventional time notation. Unlike conventional time, to convert between hexhours, hexminutes, and hexseconds, instead of having to multiply or divide by some arbitrary conversion factor, all you have to do is shift the digits. For example, to convert hexseconds into hexminutes, just shift the number one digit to the right (3C.216 hexseconds equals 3.C216 hexminutes). It is even possible to convert days into hexhours and such by shifting the point (7.816 days equals 7816 hexhours).

Furthermore, the essentially pointless and often confusing A.M. and P.M. suffixes have been eliminated. Anyone who has accidentally set his or her alarm clock for seven P.M. instead of seven A.M. can appreciate this.

http://www.intuitor.com/hex/hexclock.html

Would be benefit by using the Hex Clock?

[Rev. Rex]

There might be advantages, but the confusion it would cause would probably not make it worthwhile, especially since the current clock is used worldwide. I'm not sure I'd agree with the accuracy issue, either. A standard Cesium clock keeps time according to the vibration of Cesium atoms. Because of the wave lengths involved, it has no problem (with a computer accurate enough to read it at any give time) to read billionths or trillionths of a second. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't really care if I have a clock more accurate than that. In fact, but the time I could read the time, even in tenths of a second, so much time has gone by that we'd be talking about history.

[Travis Clementsmith]

Since the metric system took the US by storm, I predict the hexclock will be just as successful.

[Lightkeeper]

Originally Posted by Travis Clementsmith

Since the metric system took the US by storm, I predict the hexclock will be just as successful.

Are you using a "litre" bit of humor?

[Rev. Rex]

Does it really meter?

[bahai-sojourner]

If you don't knock off these atrocious puns, I'm going to put a hex on both of you...

[Lightkeeper]

Yeah and then we will clean your clock.....................

On second thought we wouldn't want to tick you off. Hour goal is to offer minute pacification in a timely manner.

[Rev. Rex]

Hey, we HAVE to be punny once in awhile! And it seemed that the TIME was right for it, considering the topic. If you give me a SECOND, I'm sure that I can think of something better to post on HOUR forum.

[Lightkeeper]

Just remember no back tock.

[Rev. Rex]

Well, no sense in going off half-clocked...