why time is divided in different ways?
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Michael A. Lombardi, a metrologist in the Time and Frequency Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo., takes the case.
In today's world, the most widely used numeral system is decimal (base 10), a system that probably originated because it made it easy for humans to count using their fingers. The civilizations that first divided the day into smaller parts, however, used different numeral systems, specifically duodecimal (base 12) and sexagesimal (base 60).
Thanks to documented evidence of the Egyptians' use of sundials, most historians credit them with being the first civilization to divide the day into smaller parts. The first sundials were simply stakes placed in the ground that indicated time by the length and direction of the resulting shadow. As early as 1500 B.C., the Egyptians had developed a more advanced sundial. A T-shaped bar placed in the ground, this instrument was calibrated to divide the interval between sunrise and sunset into 12 parts. This division reflected Egypt's use of the duodecimal system--the importance of the number 12 is typically attributed either to the fact that it equals the number of lunar cycles in a year or the number of finger joints on each hand (three in each of the four fingers, excluding the thumb), making it possible to count to 12 with the thumb. The next-generation sundial likely formed the first representation of what we now call the hour. Although the hours within a given day were approximately equal, their lengths varied during the year, with summer hours being much longer than winter hours.
Answer:
The concept of needing to divide up the day seems second nature to even the smallest kid who asks, “is it snack time”. The reality is, even though we’ve decided that there is a need to divide up time, the actual process and the way we go about it has been changing for millennia. The cruel irony is that even though we know we need to measure time, there has never been a consensus on what time really is.
Throughout all of history there have been two main schools of thought on what time is, and even many more opinions on how we should measure it. The first concept of time is one that most current physicists tend to subscribe to, and that is time is a fundamental dimension in the universe. The 4th dimension in which the other three dimensions of space (length width and height) can move through in sequence. The second concept of time argues against the idea that it is a dimension, but rather an intellectual concept that allows people to sequence and compare events. That time does not exist on its own, but is a way in which we represent things.
While many physicists tend to view time as a dimension, I assume because they are trying to hold fast to Einstein’s theories on Space-Time, I prefer to view it as a tool. This is because our universe is constantly changing. From one moment to the next, it is always in motion. From electrons moving around atomic nuclei, to the Basketball player trying to get their shot off before the game-clock runs out, everything in our universe is in motion. To be able to understand it, we need a tool. If you view the universe as a car and time as a very important tool in a toolkit, you can see how time would not be a dimension. You need tools to take apart a car and just like the socket set is needed to take apart and understand all the inner-workings of that automobile, so too time is needed to take apart and understand the change in our universe from one moment to the next. But just like the socket set will never be a part of the car, so too time will never be a part of the universe, just a needed tool to understand it.