The October, 1997 issue of "Sky & Telescope" has a picture on p.48 of a fine porcelain sundial which has marks for a 10-hour day, with each hour having 100 minutes. There is no mention of where the dial is presently located, but the photo is labeled "Museum of Fine Arts." The article is "Time and the Amateur Astronomer" by Alan M. MacRobert.
Mac Oglesby >Of course, one "Swatch Beat" is therefore also equal to the second >division in the French revolutionary or decimal system of time >measurement, which divided the day into 10 hours each of 100 minutes >each of 100 seconds. I am afraid I forget the actual terms for the >units and the details of when it was introduced, some time during the >1790's. It was dropped after a few years because of its overwhelming >unpopularity. :-) > >A few clocks remain; are there any such sundials? > >Andrew James > >>>> >> How long is a Swatch beat? In short we have divided up the virtual and >> real day into 1000 "beats". >> One Swatch beat is the equivalent of 1 minute 26.4 seconds. >> >> <<< >>
