– Why is time measured in multiples of 60? Wouldn’t a base 10 form of measurement make more sense in applications like physics?
In: 1
The division of an hour into minutes and seconds was made by Al-Biruni, one of the greatest scholars in the world. And he was very familiar with the sexagesimal numbers as used by the babilonians and persians. So he chose to use it for the divisions of the hour. The number 60 is extremely divisible. You can divide it by 2,3,4,5,6,10,12,15,20 and 30. For example 100 can not be divided by 3 or 8. It is only later that the decimal system have gained a lot of popularity.
Latest Answers