General Knowledge · 2
According to the medieval origin of timekeeping units, how did scholars arrive at the 'second' as a measure of time?
Answer
By dividing an hour into 60 parts, then dividing each of those parts into 60 more parts
Medieval scholars repeatedly applied a 60-part division to the hour: the first division produced the minute, and the second sexagesimal division produced the 'second,' named for being the second such subdivision.
💡 Did you know?
Seconds were invented by medieval scholars dividing hours into sixty parts repeatedly, calling each division a 'second' subdivision of time.
Other options people guess
- By dividing a day directly into 60 equal parts
- By dividing an hour into 100 equal parts
- By dividing a minute into 12 equal parts
Topics
- time
- measurement
- history
- etymology
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