In a standard heximal (base 6) clock as originally conceived by Tab Atkins-Bittner (Xanthir), the day is divided into 100₆ (3610) Hex-Hours. Each Hex-Hour is divided into 100₆ (3610) Hex-Minutes, and each Hex-Minute into 100₆ (3610) Hex-Seconds.
Each hex-hour is 40 decimal minutes long; each hex-minute is about 1 minute 4 seconds in decimal; and each hex-second is just under two decimal seconds. Because 36 hours in a full rotation is a significant shift, the clock uses two hour hands: the shorter hand points to the 6es digit (the 6 watches of the day: 00₆, 10₆, 20₆, 30₆, 40₆, 50₆), and the longer hour hand points to the 1s digit (0–5).
Our System Edits & Significance huh?
While preserving Xanthir’s exact 100₆ unit divisions and double-hour hand display, our edits ground timekeeping in physical frame dynamics rather than purely human conventions:
- Canonical Epoch Anchor (t₀): We lock the primary origin to
1971.0 UTC(Unix epoch origin). This roots the system in global digital synchronization and relativistic proper time measurements rather than arbitrary historical alignments. - Neutral Reference Frame (s₀): The unperturbed baseline time rate is defined at the Earth-Moon L₄ Lagrangian Point, insulating the master clock from Earth's local gravitational field fluctuations.
- Sub-Daily Relativistic Breathing: Rather than forcing hours to remain rigid, the length of each Hex-Hour expands or contracts slightly throughout the year. This accounts for Earth's varying orbital velocity and gravitational potential as it orbits the Sun, allowing sub-daily time to "breathe" with the planet's physical motion.
Subdivisions of the Day
The 36 Hex-Hours of the day are grouped into 6 Watches (representing the tens digit):
00₆–05₆Watch 0 (Dawn Watch): Hours 0 to 510₆–15₆Watch 1 (Zenith Watch): Hours 6 to 1120₆–25₆Watch 2 (Slant Watch): Hours 12 to 1730₆–35₆Watch 3 (Dusk Watch): Hours 18 to 2340₆–45₆Watch 4 (Gloom Watch): Hours 24 to 2950₆–55₆Watch 5 (Still Watch): Hours 30 to 35