Ironically, the 24-hour clock seems to have originated with astronomers, whose work helped devise the metric system. (Delembre and Mechain were astronomers and they used celestial navigation throughout their famous survey of the Dunkirk/Barcelona meridian.) As I recall reading, the adoption of this system by military forces in various countries of the world did not happen until roughly a century later, but the name "military time" has stuck. I think that there were more civilians who first ran across the 24-hour clock in the course of fulfilling military duties than there were who put in a few years of work in observatories and that this led to the false accusation.
Of course the joke has turned. The astronomers started their day at noon (some still record date and time that way) rather than midnight and, in my experience, American astronomers are the least likely physicists to use the SI, prefering instead old cgs units when necessary but arcane units whenever possible. Those who were first became last, which almost sounds biblical somehow. Jim On Friday 2004 January 02 16:39, john mercer wrote: > Yesterday Doreen and i bought some gas for the car. She used are bank card > when we got the receit the time was in 24 hour mode. I believe that most > electronic cash registors give the times on receits in 24 hour time. Even > on my cell bill when it shows the times of calls they are in 24 hour. In > the states if you buy gas and use your bank card is the time on the receit > in 12 or 24 hour? I would dare say that most people when they get a receit > they don't even look at the time. I have known about 24 hour time since i > was a child. My dad used to use it on our boat. Cheers.
