Gordon Uber <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Let's face it: The Babylonians got it right when they developed the base-60
> system. It was applied to the sixth of a circle (one sixtieth of this
> being a degree) and the hour, of which we still use the first and second
> minutes. Third minutes (sixtieths of second minutes) are not in common
> use, although I would note that the third minute of an hour is the period
> of U.S. power main standard 60 Hz alternating current. Coincidence?
Is this the origin of our (English, at least) names for units of time?
"Seconds" because it result from dividing an hour by 60 twice?
("Min'-ute", I assume, is related to "mi-nute'" and "mini".)
Is it known whether the Babylonians, when they chose 360 degrees to a
circle, were more concerned with the convenience of numbers divisible
by 2's and 3's or with the fact that there are 360 days in a year
(within a percent or two)?
--Art
