

General relativity does not address the nature of time for extremely small intervals where quantum mechanics holds. Distance and time are intimately related, and the time required for light to travel a specific distance is the same for all observers, as first publicly demonstrated by Michelson and Morley. In general relativity, the question of what time it is now only has meaning relative to a particular observer. However, the numerical values are different for different observers. Every event can be assigned four numbers representing its time and position (the event's coordinates). Examples of events are the collision of two particles, the explosion of a supernova, or the arrival of a rocket ship. The physical nature of time is addressed by general relativity with respect to events in spacetime. Time in physics is operationally defined as "what a clock reads". Nevertheless, diverse fields such as business, industry, sports, the sciences, and the performing arts all incorporate some notion of time into their respective measuring systems. Time has long been an important subject of study in religion, philosophy, and science, but defining it in a manner applicable to all fields without circularity has consistently eluded scholars. Time is often referred to as a fourth dimension, along with three spatial dimensions. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to compare the duration of events or the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change of quantities in material reality or in the conscious experience. Comparing examples of Zulu time to their Eastern and Central time zone - daylight saving and standard - counterparts.Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It's important to note that these will change in regions that observe daylight saving time in the summertime. Pacific Standard Time (PST): UTC-0800 or 8 hours behind GMT.Mountain Standard Time (MST): UTC-0700 or 7 hours behind GMT.Central Standard Time (CST): UTC-0600 or 6 hours behind GMT.

Eastern Standard Time (EST): UTC-0500 or 5 hours behind GMT.When comparing Zulu time to different time zones, the abbreviations and differences in time are typically expressed in a format like the following: Thus, the Zulu time zone is expressed as UTC+0000, or Zulu time is zero hours ahead of GMT. Time zones are measured as the number of hours offset from GMT. It's also worth noting that the use of Zulu time has also gained popularity in the shipping industry for the same reason - to avoid confusion with international shipping vessels. Interestingly, the use of Zulu time in aviation has led to the widespread practice among pilots of referring to local time by its offset from Zulu time.įor example, pilots flying from Los Angeles to New York might refer to their departure time as "two zero niner zulu" (0900 UTC/GMT) and their arrival time as "one five niner zulu" (1545 UTC/GMT). Zulu time eliminates this confusion by providing a single standard that can be applied universally. military still uses Zulu time in its radio transmissions and documentation because of the confusion that can result when trying to coordinate activities with other countries that use different time standards.

Zulu timekeeping starts at midnight instead of 12 noon or 12 midnight, which is the standard reference for most other time zones. Zulu time is measured in hours, minutes and seconds using the Gregorian calendar, military time divisions of hours and minutes, and a 24-hour format. Zulu is the radio transmission articulation for the letter Z. This line of longitude is based on the location of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, near London. In military shorthand, the letter Z follows a time expressed in UTC, or the time at longitude 0 degrees 0 minutes - the prime meridian or longitudinal line that separates east from west in the world geographical coordinate system. It is also sometimes referred to as GMT, or Greenwich Mean Time, although this usage is discouraged by the U.S. Zulu time was created to eliminate the confusion caused by different time zones. Zulu time is generally used as a term for Universal Coordinated Time (UCT), sometimes called Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) or Coordinated Universal Time (but abbreviated UTC). Zulu (Zulu time) is used in the military and navigation for timekeeping purposes to avert confusion when coordinating with countries using other time standards.
