When does a New Year start

If the last bong denotes the hour being chimed, then that would imply that the sequence of bongs must start at a different period prior to the hour for each hour. Ie if it takes 1 second to do a bong, the sequence must start 12 seconds before midnight, but only 11 seconds before 11pm, 10 seconds before 10pm and so on.

I don't believe that Big Ben (or any other mechanical chiming clock for that matter) is that complex in its operation.

IMO, the hour begins on the first chime.
 
You're all raving bongers.

Obviously it's the first bong and the others just tell you what the time is.
 
Incidentally in the army we avoid 24.00 and 0.00 for midnight. If I said I'll meet you at midnight on the eleventh do I mean midnight at the start of the day or the end? To avoid confusion we never use midnight but would either use 0.01 (a minute past midnight at the start of the 11th) or 23.59 (a minute before the end of the day on the eleventh).
Hey, didn't know that. Thanks another piece of information I can bore people with added to the memory banks! Tar! :smashin:
 
I really appreciate all the interest in this, however no-one has as yet provided me with an answer to the question, which was, put simply.

"How can I prove I'm right, and she is wrong?".:clap: :clap: :clap:
 
I really appreciate all the interest in this, however no-one has as yet provided me with an answer to the question, which was, put simply.

"How can I prove I'm right, and she is wrong?".:clap: :clap: :clap:

If you happen to be near to Big Ben, tune into the BBC World Service which plays the greenwich pips every hour. Five pips then a 6th long pip on the hour. The 6th pip will coincide with the first bong.
 
Don't listen to the world Service via DAB. DAB has it's own delay in transmitting and will be slower than the original broadcast by about a second.
 
All of this is rather academic anyway, as the last time I drove past Big Ben the clock was 10 minutes slow.

Either that or my watch was wrong, but I really don't think that is very likely.
 
All of this is rather academic anyway, as the last time I drove past Big Ben the clock was 10 minutes slow.


I thought Big Ben was one of the worlds most accurate clocks, run by an atomic clock or something :confused:
 
I really appreciate all the interest in this, however no-one has as yet provided me with an answer to the question, which was, put simply.

"How can I prove I'm right, and she is wrong?".:clap: :clap: :clap:

I've been wanting to post in this thread telling people that its the last chime, but I held back.

"How can I prove I'm right, and she is wrong?"

Do you know anybody with a Grandfather clock? Or even take her to a store that has one.

Because, on a Grandfathers clock you will see that the chimes start before the big hand hits the hour mark, and if its a really good clock you will see the big hand click on 12 at the last chime.
 
I'll find out tomorrow. My neighbour is part of the maintenance team and knows in great detail how it works. Hes not home at the moment though. :smashin:
 
Thank you! I'll put a tenner down on first chime signals the beginning of the hour
 
I thought Big Ben was one of the worlds most accurate clocks, run by an atomic clock or something :confused:
Not according to my watch :)

I think you'll find that it is clockwork, although I'm sure that they use accurate reference signals to ensure that the mechanism keeps good time.
 
I'll find out tomorrow. My neighbour is part of the maintenance team and knows in great detail how it works. Hes not home at the moment though. :smashin:



Well I know the person that built it and rings it every day on the night shift and he says its the last bong. He also said the maintenance teams dont know what they are talking about.
 
Come on ZZ, put these guys out of there misery. :D
 
Well I know the person that built it and rings it every day on the night shift and he says its the last bong. He also said the maintenance teams dont know what they are talking about.
I think it's worth pointing out that you cannot do anything every day, on a night shift. Unless perhaps you are a badger or an owl.
 
I think it's worth pointing out that you cannot do anything every day, on a night shift. Unless perhaps you are a badger or an owl.

Thats what they want you to think - however the night shift do the bongs from midnight to midday which are recorded and then played back from midday to midnight. So in fact the night shift are responsible for all the bongs.
 
I think someone has lit their bong and (unlike clinton) Inhaled.
 
Thats what they want you to think - however the night shift do the bongs from midnight to midday which are recorded and then played back from midday to midnight.
Is there any reason they would do this every day? I would have thought that one day's bongs are very similar to the next.
 

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