SÈrgio Garcia Doret <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > 1 - Assume the hours equals exactly 1/24th of the earth revolution time and > suppose a disguster lover choose to retire into a cave, where daylight is > entirelly shut off for a period of six months to the minute. ... > What adjustment does his watch need?
As pointed out by others, the assumption does not even come close to the actual definition of an hour, but what the heck. The watch owner has more important things on his mind. I see two answers, depending on the type of watch: 1) If it the usual "stupid" kind, no adjustment will be necessary. 12 o'clock is 12 o'clock, and the watch can't distinguish 12 noon from 12 midnight. 2) If the watch has a date display, then it must be adjusted by 12 hours, and it makes a difference whether you set it forward or set it back because you wind up on a different day. The correct procedure is to set it back to give the rotation about the axis time to make up for the revolution about the sun. --Art Carlson
