Binary clock

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A binary clock is a clock that displays the time of day in a binary format. Originally, such clocks showed each decimal digit of sexagesimal time as a binary value, but presently binary clocks also exist which display hours, minutes, and seconds as binary numbers. Most binary clocks are digital, although analog varieties exist. True binary clocks also exist, which indicate the time by successively halving the day, instead of using hours, minutes, or seconds. Similar clocks, based on Gray coded binary, also exist.

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Binary-coded decimal clocks

Reading a binary-coded decimal clock: Add the values of each column of LEDs to get six decimal digits. There are two columns each for hours, minutes and seconds. Binary clock.svg
Reading a binary-coded decimal clock: Add the values of each column of LEDs to get six decimal digits. There are two columns each for hours, minutes and seconds.
Both clocks read 12:15:45. Digital-BCD-clock.jpg
Both clocks read 12:15:45.

Most common binary clocks use six columns of LEDs to represent zeros and ones. Each column represents a single decimal digit, a format known as binary-coded decimal (BCD). The bottom row in each column represents 1 (or 20), with each row above representing higher powers of two, up to 23 (or 8).

To read each individual digit in the time, the user adds the values that each illuminated LED represents, then reads these from left to right. The first two columns represent the hour, the next two represent the minute and the last two represent the second. Since zero digits are not illuminated, the positions of each digit must be memorized if the clock is to be usable in the dark.

Binary-coded sexagesimal clocks

Time Technology's Samui Moon binary-coded sexagesimal wristwatch. This clock reads 3:25. Binary clock samui moon.jpg
Time Technology's Samui Moon binary-coded sexagesimal wristwatch. This clock reads 3:25.

Binary clocks that display time in binary-coded sexagesimal also exist. Instead of representing each digit of traditional sexagesimal time with one binary number, each component of traditional sexagesimal time is represented with one binary number, that is, using up to 6 bits instead of only 4.

For 24-hour binary-coded sexagesimal clocks, there are 11 or 17 LED lights to show the time. There are 5 LEDs to show the hours, there are 6 LEDs to show the minutes, and there are 6 LEDs to show the seconds (which aren't used in clocks with 11 LED lights).

HoursMinutesSeconds
3211
16001
8100
4010
2100
1011
103749
Binary large-scale electronic clock, designed by the artist Norbert Moslang, to indicate the time of day on 3 lines in hours, minutes, seconds on the face of the main railway station in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Time indicated is 9 o'clock 25 minutes 46 seconds. Binary clock Swiss railway station.jpg
Binary large-scale electronic clock, designed by the artist Norbert Möslang, to indicate the time of day on 3 lines in hours, minutes, seconds on the face of the main railway station in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Time indicated is 9 o'clock 25 minutes 46 seconds.

A format exists also where hours, minutes and seconds are shown on three lines instead of columns as binary numbers. [1]

Binary time

Less commonly, the day could be divided in binary fractions, such as ½ day, ¼ day, etc. The clock would show the time in 16 bits, where the smallest unit would be exactly 165536 day, or 675512 (about 1.318) seconds. [2] An analog format also exists of this type. [3] However, it is much easier to write and express this in hexadecimal, which would be hexadecimal time.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Binary-coded decimal</span> System of digitally encoding numbers

In computing and electronic systems, binary-coded decimal (BCD) is a class of binary encodings of decimal numbers where each digit is represented by a fixed number of bits, usually four or eight. Sometimes, special bit patterns are used for a sign or other indications.

In mathematics and computing, the hexadecimal numeral system is a positional numeral system that represents numbers using a radix (base) of sixteen. Unlike the decimal system representing numbers using ten symbols, hexadecimal uses sixteen distinct symbols, most often the symbols "0"–"9" to represent values 0 to 9, and "A"–"F" to represent values from ten to fifteen.

Octal is a numeral system with eight as the base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second</span> SI unit of time

The second is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as 186400 of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each. "Minute" comes from the Latin pars minuta prima, meaning "first small part", and "second" comes from the pars minuta secunda, "second small part".

A computer number format is the internal representation of numeric values in digital device hardware and software, such as in programmable computers and calculators. Numerical values are stored as groupings of bits, such as bytes and words. The encoding between numerical values and bit patterns is chosen for convenience of the operation of the computer; the encoding used by the computer's instruction set generally requires conversion for external use, such as for printing and display. Different types of processors may have different internal representations of numerical values and different conventions are used for integer and real numbers. Most calculations are carried out with number formats that fit into a processor register, but some software systems allow representation of arbitrarily large numbers using multiple words of memory.

Sexagesimal, also known as base 60, is a numeral system with sixty as its base. It originated with the ancient Sumerians in the 3rd millennium BC, was passed down to the ancient Babylonians, and is still used—in a modified form—for measuring time, angles, and geographic coordinates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SMPTE timecode</span> Standards to label individual frames of video or film with a timestamp

SMPTE timecode is a set of cooperating standards to label individual frames of video or film with a timecode. The system is defined by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers in the SMPTE 12M specification. SMPTE revised the standard in 2008, turning it into a two-part document: SMPTE 12M-1 and SMPTE 12M-2, including new explanations and clarifications.

A binary number is a number expressed in the base-2 numeral system or binary numeral system, a method of mathematical expression which uses only two symbols: typically "0" (zero) and "1" (one).

Mixed radix numeral systems are non-standard positional numeral systems in which the numerical base varies from position to position. Such numerical representation applies when a quantity is expressed using a sequence of units that are each a multiple of the next smaller one, but not by the same factor. Such units are common for instance in measuring time; a time of 32 weeks, 5 days, 7 hours, 45 minutes, 15 seconds, and 500 milliseconds might be expressed as a number of minutes in mixed-radix notation as:

... 32, 5, 07, 45; 15, 500 ... ∞, 7, 24, 60; 60, 1000

A numerical digit or numeral is a single symbol used alone or in combinations, to represent numbers in a positional numeral system. The name "digit" comes from the fact that the ten digits of the hands correspond to the ten symbols of the common base 10 numeral system, i.e. the decimal digits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWV (radio station)</span> U.S. government shortwave radio station

WWV is a shortwave radio station, located near Fort Collins, Colorado. It has broadcast a continuous time signal since 1945, and implements United States government frequency standards, with transmitters operating on 2.5, 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz. WWV is operated by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), under the oversight of its Time and Frequency Division, which is part of NIST's Physical Measurement Laboratory based in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

WWVB is a time signal radio station near Fort Collins, Colorado and is operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Most radio-controlled clocks in North America use WWVB's transmissions to set the correct time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Positional notation</span> Method for representing or encoding numbers

Positional notation usually denotes the extension to any base of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system. More generally, a positional system is a numeral system in which the contribution of a digit to the value of a number is the value of the digit multiplied by a factor determined by the position of the digit. In early numeral systems, such as Roman numerals, a digit has only one value: I means one, X means ten and C a hundred. In modern positional systems, such as the decimal system, the position of the digit means that its value must be multiplied by some value: in 555, the three identical symbols represent five hundreds, five tens, and five units, respectively, due to their different positions in the digit string.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seven-segment display</span> Form of electronic display device for displaying decimal numerals

A seven-segment display is a form of electronic display device for displaying decimal numerals that is an alternative to the more complex dot matrix displays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hexadecimal time</span>

Hexadecimal time is the representation of the time of day as a hexadecimal number in the interval [0, 1).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decimal time</span> Representation of the time of day using decimally related units

Decimal time is the representation of the time of day using units which are decimally related. This term is often used specifically to refer to the French Republican calendar time system used in France from 1794 to 1800, during the French Revolution, which divided the day into 10 decimal hours, each decimal hour into 100 decimal minutes and each decimal minute into 100 decimal seconds, as opposed to the more familiar standard time, which divides the day into 24 hours, each hour into 60 minutes and each minute into 60 seconds.

Non-standard positional numeral systems here designates numeral systems that may loosely be described as positional systems, but that do not entirely comply with the following description of standard positional systems:

BCD, also called alphanumeric BCD, alphameric BCD, BCD Interchange Code, or BCDIC, is a family of representations of numerals, uppercase Latin letters, and some special and control characters as six-bit character codes.

In Spain, date notation follows the DD/MM/YYYY format. Time notation depends on the level of formality and varies in written and spoken formats. Official time is given using the 24-hour clock, and the 12-hour clock is often used in informal speech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clock position</span> Relative direction using a dial

A clock position, or clock bearing, is the direction of an object observed from a vehicle, typically a vessel or an aircraft, relative to the orientation of the vehicle to the observer. The vehicle must be considered to have a front, a back, a left side and a right side. These quarters may have specialized names, such as bow and stern for a vessel, or nose and tail for an aircraft. The observer then measures or observes the angle made by the intersection of the line of sight to the longitudinal axis, the dimension of length, of the vessel, using the clock analogy.

References

  1. "ST.GALLEN: Verpassen Sie den Zug oder können Sie eine Binär-Uhr lesen?". St.Galler Tagblatt (in German). Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  2. "Abulsme True Binary Time". www.abulsme.com. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  3. "anthony.liekens.net » Misc » True Binary Time". anthony.liekens.net. Retrieved 2020-04-02.[ dead link ]