I hate admitting this. I’m 46, educated and logical, but I don’t TRULY understand how time zones work – when I flew to America from the UK the flight was 8 hours, but when I landed, only 2 hours had elapsed in local time but it’s the same day. Where does the time go? Does it sort of get saved up at the international date line and cancelled or something? I hate admitting I don’t really understand this.
In: 0
The time on the clock is essentially just a way of measuring daylight hours.
Since your plane is moving faster than the rotation of the Earth, it’s moving to a spot where the Sun is higher or lower in the sky. Essentially, by moving westwards, you’re making your own day longer. If you had a plane with infinite fuel moving at just the right speed it could move at the same speed the Earth rotates and thus stay in daylight forever–but clearly time is still passing onboard. They just need a different way of measuring it.
To realise that no time has actually been lost or gained, forget your perspective for a moment. Remember that the time back in the UK and the time in the US haven’t actually changed at all. If you flew to the US for a few days then flew back to the UK without ever changing your watch, it would still be completely accurate when you get back. So clearly no time has been gained or lost.
Latest Answers