Time zones and international standards
Discover how humanity synchronized time across the globe. From the chaos of local times to the precision of UTC, explore the fascinating story of international time coordination.
How railroads forced the world to synchronize
Every city kept its own local solar time
Standardized time across regions
Coordinated Universal Time as the world's reference
How nations agreed on global time standards
The International Meridian Conference of 1884 established Greenwich as the prime meridian.
UTC in aviation, internet, and global business
All international flights, internet protocols, and financial markets use UTC.
Keeping atomic time aligned with Earth rotation
Occasional leap seconds are added to keep UTC synchronized with Earth's rotation.
Continue learning about time with physics, psychology, and cultural perspectives.