We split the day originally because we lived our lives mostly in the daylight. It was convenient to mark time from sunrise to mid-day and then from mid-day to sunset.
We haven’t changed to a 24 hour clock because we’re used to the 12 hour clock, as cumbersome as it is.
I personally use a 24 hour clock.
Solar noon is easy to observe without instruments and it happens at about the same time regardless of season, it’s only off by 6 or so minutes, unlike sunrise/sunset which drift several hours. So it was just a natural split for ancient people to see time as before noon and after noon on their sundials or whatever. Another natural reason for splitting day into halves is night and day, but as I mentioned it’s harder to observe when that split is crossed.
Latest Answers