Moreover, to maintain the consistent time system, UTC does not observe Daylight Saving Time (unlike GMT). The primary reason why UTC was considered to be a more accurate system was the fact that it used the rotation of Earth and atomic clocks for measurements.

In 1963, the concept of UTC was established as the primary international standard which would denote how other countries would regulate their time in relation to UTC 3. Emergence of UTCĬoordinated Universal Time was introduced as the more accurate replacement of GMT. As a result, in 1911, the International Congress on Astronomical Ephemerides agreed to use GMT for the universal offset of the clocks for other nations. The advancement of the technologies of the wireless telegraph indicated that all countries require precise time standard. From that point, every nation used GMT to calculate the time in relation to this standard.Įventually, GMT became the unified standard for the economic interactions between countries around the world. Subsequently, Greenwich meridian was determined as zero degrees longitude, thus, the international standard time 2. Considering that Great Britain was a developed marine nation, it used Greenwich Meridian to position own ships. The history of GMT started with the decision of the International Meridian Conference in 1884 to establish the prime meridian which would denote the international standard of time. Nevertheless, same as for GMT, the primary purpose of UTC is to denote the universal time zone in relation to others. To calculate the UTC time, the atomic clocks with frequency cycles are used to display the accurate measurements of time. UTC differs from GMT due to 24-hour system, which starts counting from midnight. Also, considering that each day requires the same interval, the pendulum clocks at the observatory was the perfect mechanism to standardise time for the universal coordination.Ĭoordinated Universal Time (UTC) came to replace GMT with the more accurate and scientific measurements of time 1.Īlthough the abbreviation does not match the term, it was used as a compromise for the translation from European languages. The term “mean” indicates the average time the clocks need to pass through the solar day. The name derives from the place where the solar time was standardised for everyone: it was established at The Royal Observatory Greenwich. The abbreviation of GMT stands for Greenwich Mean Time. Nevertheless, both of these time standards are widely used in the world for a similar purpose of time coordination. Although UTC and GMT indicate the same time, UTC is based on the more precise mechanism of time measurement. In particular, the concept of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) was designed to provide a more accurate timekeeping system. The advancement of telecommunication technologies influenced the creation of an even more precise system of time identification. The primary difference remains to be the fact that GMT is the denomination of a timezone, while UTC is the title of the time standard. Therefore, the difference in time for other countries is indicated either by adding or subtracting hours from GMT time. The implementation of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was the first step to determine the time zone of other countries in regard to GMT+0. Especially, it was vital to have a standardised time zone for communication and military coordinations. With the globalisation and evolution of international relationships, the need for universal time identification has occurred.

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