The Prairiedog Files Yup, another wordpress blog

29Nov/050

Time Warp

The Assumption

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

The Truth

A stopped clock may be right twice a day. A broken clock may be right much less often.

The Explanation

First, we pick some reasonable data:

1) Most clocks are 12hr
2) A clock that loses 30 seconds or more per day is out of working order and effectively broken
3) A clock more than ±5 minutes from the actual time is not correct
4) The clock never gets any faster or slower, and it is not adjusted

Now we run the numbers:

1) Seconds per 12 hour period:

12hr*60min/hr*60sec/min = 43200 seconds

2) Seconds per 12 hour period during which a clock may be considered accurate:

(5min+5min)*60sec/min = 600 seconds

3) Seconds per 12 hour period during which a clock may be considered inaccurate:

43200 - 600 = 42600 seconds

4) A clock that loses 30 seconds per day will traverse the 600 second period of accuracy in:

600 sec / 30 sec/day = 20 days

5) The same clock will remain inaccurate for the other 11 hours and 50 minutes in a 12 hour cycle. It will be in the "inaccurate" time range for:

42600 sec / 30 sec/day = 1420 days

So, by fairly conventional standards, a broken clock may be right for 20 days consecutively, and wrong for 1420 days consecutively, if it loses but 30 seconds per day.

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