International Time Zones: Pseudo-Time Travel

When you travel by plane from one country to another, the stewardess usually tell you to adjust the time on your watch before you land. When you watch a cable channel, you usually see more than one screening time for your favorite show. Why is that? The answer is simple: the earth is divided into 24 time zones. This means that at any given time, there are 24 different times all over the world. Sound confusing? It's actually easy to understand.

A time zone is a region of the world that uses the same standard time. This standard time is more popularly called the “local time.” Standard time zones are outlined by geometrically sectionalizing the globe into 24 lunes or wedge-shaped sections. Each lune is separated by meridians 15 degrees of longitude apart. Most of the time, as you move from one time zone to its neighboring zone, time changes by one hour, either ahead or backward.

Ideally, every time zone should be bordered by parallel lines. You adjust one hour every time you cross one line. However, for geographical and political purposes, some time zones get skewed or irregularly shaped. Some time zones also adjust their times such as in some parts of Europe where they move their time an hour forward or backward for daylight savings.

Some countries share one time zone. For example, France, Germany, Spain and Scandinavian countries share one time zone. Time zones can also transcend continental boundaries. In fact, France and Germany also share their time zone with some Central African countries including Algeria, Chad and Namibia. If you look at the map, they seem to form a vertical line, although it's not necessarily straight. This means that when you travel from Germany to Namibia, you wouldn't have to worry about adjusting your watch.

Japan and Korea share one time zone, too. If you fly from Japan to Korea, you don't need to adjust the time on your clock. However, it is necessary if you travel from Korea to China because the latter is in a different time zone.

There are also countries that are geographically wide so have more than one time zone. In this case, the country is divided into regions, each using a different time, thus being in a separate time zone. The United States is divided into four time zones: Pacific, Mountain, Central, and Eastern. This means that traveling from Ohio to Indiana needs no time adjustment because they are both in the Eastern zone. However, driving from Indiana to Illinois would be a different case. Illinois is part of the Central region.

Other countries who have more than one time zone in their territories are Australia, Canada, and Russia.