Typically, the article confuses the bell with the clock. Big Ben has, of course, never ticked and never will.
The clock is correctly called Westminster Clock. Big Ben is the large bell used to strike the hours. There are four smaller bells, each struck once at the quarter hour, twice at the half hour, three times at the three quarter hour and four times just before the hour. (I forget their names, but they're easy to look up.) Using male names for bells in Britain is a centuries-old practice. (I guess we'd also consider it to be a somewhat sexist practice, these days.) And again, Brij, you're confusing the expression of time (other than the second) with SI. The only SI unit of time is the second. The notation used for the other time units has been standardized (ISO 8601), but all SI has to say about such units is that they are non-SI units accepted for use with SI. There is no good justification for a "new second" or a "new meter." Bill Potts, CMS Roseville, CA http://metric1.org [SI Navigator] >-----Original Message----- >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Behalf Of Brij Bhushan Vij >Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2005 07:52 >To: U.S. Metric Association >Subject: [USMA:32964] Ailing Big Ben > > >Sirs: >Recent story of Ailing Big Ben at: >http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8016000/?GT1=6542 >is a baffler, since it is again - an indicator for a THOROUGH >renovation to >keep this *Land Mark* - the pride of Londoner's. YES, its time of stoppage >is an 'approperiate instant - 10:07 PM i.e. 10 minutes after TEN >on decimal >scale; since I no more discuss the 10/20-hrx100x100 scale. I now >profess, NO >EXPENSES be incurred for transition from 'conventional to decimal clock' >using 24-hrx100x100 divisions for the passage of Day. >In 1976, the clock stopped when a piece of its machinery broke, it had >stopped at 10:10 hrs, hich when converted to Metric Scale - 20/10-hrx100 m >would be 08:50hrs(metric) of which I reported in The Deccan Herald, >Bangalore; 1976 August 08. >The point I intend conveying is the NEED to renovate/overhaul THIS Land >Mark, with *decimalised minutes after the HOUR* i.e. just add 100 >graduations alongwith 60 to read minutes after the hour. Other than the >wrist wach, I wear - this can be the World's Land Mark telling time in >*decimalised minutes after the hour* - spending NOTHING, as >compared to the >attention it shall draw. >Moreso, this can be the first step to align *decimal second; and >also defing >New Metre (m') as: 1/10^5th of arcAngle Pi/180 (one degree) and become >related base units for Le Systeme International d'Unites (SI); in defining >Nautical Kilometre (NKm')* >Some of my other works can be see at: >http://www.the-light.com/cal/bbv_IndiaContributes.doc >Brij Bhushan Vij <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >(Sunday - Kali5106-W07-00)/D-150 (2005 May 29H2032(decimal) IST >Aa Nau Bhadra Kritvo Yantu Vishwatah -Rg Veda >Jan:31; Feb:29; Mar:31; Apr:30; May:31; Jun:30 >Jul:30; Aug:31; Sep:30; Oct:31; Nov:30; Dec:30 >(365th day of Year is World Day) >******As per Kali V-GRhymeCalendar****** >Telephone: +91-11-25590335 > >_________________________________________________________________ >NRIs open a savings a/c with just INR 10,000 >http://creative.mediaturf.net/creatives/icicibank/TOL210405.htm FREE money >transfers. >
