metricstime

Metricstime is a term used to describe a proposed timekeeping and calendrical framework that uses decimalized units for measuring time in an effort to align daily time with metric arithmetic and SI units. It is not in general use and there is no official implementation.

Several variants exist. A common conception divides a day into ten hours, each hour into one hundred minutes, and each minute into one hundred seconds, yielding 100,000 metric seconds per day. Other proposals retain a roughly 24-hour day but redefine the length of hours, minutes, or seconds by decimal subdivisions or apply metric prefixes to time intervals. Some conceptions extend decimalization to calendars as well, creating decimal years or months to accompany decimal days.

Origins of the idea date to historical experiments with decimal time such as the French Revolutionary Time, and have resurfaced in discussions about simplifying time calculations for computing, data logging, and international scheduling.

Supporters argue that metricstime would simplify arithmetic, improve consistency with SI units, and ease computer processing of timestamps. Critics contend that it would disrupt social routines, reduce compatibility with existing timekeeping systems, and face cultural resistance to altering the familiar day‑night cycle.

Today metricstime remains a scholarly and hobbyist topic rather than a practical alternative. It appears in thought experiments, digital clock concepts, and proposals but has not been adopted by governments or major organizations.

See also: decimal time, French Revolutionary Time, timekeeping, SI units.