What are the AM and PM acronyms?
What are the AM and PM?:– The 12-hour clock, including am and pm, is used in some nations, including the United States, Canada, and Australia. What are these abbreviations referring to? Is it at midnight or p.m.?
Two 12-Hour Periods
The 12-hour system divides the 24-hour day into two 12-hour periods. am refers to the first 12-hour period. From midnight to noon, it runs. The twelve hours from noon to midnight make up the second period, which is called the pm.
The Latin origins of the abbreviations am and pm
AM is Latin for “anti”: Post meridiem: Before noon PM After noon, the 12-hour clock system identifies all 24 hours of the day by using numbers from 1 to 12, followed by am or pm. For instance, 5 a.m. is the early morning and 5 p.m. in the late afternoon; One hour after midnight is 1 a.m., and one hour before midnight is 11 p.m.
The most common abbreviations for ante meridiem are AM, am, a.m., or A.M. The most common abbreviations for post meridiem are PM, pm, p.m., or P.M. Timeanddate.com, like many other sources, uses am and pm, but the other variants are equally correct and are widely used.
Time Formats
12-hour |
24-hour |
|---|---|
12:00 (midnight) |
0:00 (beginning of the day) |
12:01 am |
0:01 |
1:00 am |
1:00 |
2:00 am |
2:00 |
3:00 am |
3:00 |
4:00 am |
4:00 |
5:00 am |
5:00 |
6:00 am |
6:00 |
7:00 am |
7:00 |
8:00 am |
8:00 |
9:00 am |
9:00 |
10:00 am |
10:00 |
11:00 am |
11:00 |
12:00 (noon) |
12:00 |
12:01 pm |
12:01 |
1:00 pm |
13:00 |
2:00 pm |
14:00 |
3:00 pm |
15:00 |
4:00 pm |
16:00 |
5:00 pm |
17:00 |
6:00 pm |
18:00 |
7:00 pm |
19:00 |
8:00 pm |
20:00 |
9:00 pm |
21:00 |
10:00 pm |
22:00 |
11:00 pm |
23:00 |
12:00 (midnight) |
24:00 (end of the day) |
Afternoon and Midnight: Am or p.m.?
The widespread confusion regarding which abbreviation should be used for noon and midnight is the primary flaw of the 12-hour system: Neither the time before noon (am) nor the time after noon (pm) can be logically identified. For instance, exactly 12 hours after noon the day before and 12 hours before noon the day after midnight are the same time.
However, the majority of digital clocks and sources, such as timeanddate.com, indicate noon as 12 p.m. and midnight as 12 a.m. Even though the exact moment of noon does not fall into either of these categories, the hour that comes after it, from 12:00:01 to 12:59:59, is unmistakably afternoon.
We recommend using the terms “12 noon” and “12 midnight” instead of “noon” or “midnight” to avoid any misunderstandings.
Midnight Confusion Another source of confusion is the 12-hour system’s lack of a date designator. Since only a date and 12:00 am (midnight) are provided, it is impossible to logically identify the correct moment in time.
Imagine being asked to meet a friend at the airport at twelve o’clock in the morning on April 13. Would you go there between April 12 and April 13 at midnight? Or after 24 hours?
Choosing clarity over accuracy is one way to solve this problem. You might be asked to be at the airport on April 13 at 12:01 a.m., or at 11:59 p.m., if they mean after midnight. The 24-hour format could also be utilized. In this case, 0:00 is the beginning of the day and 24:00 is the end of the day’s midnight.
Converting 12-Hour Time to 24-Hour Time A 24-hour clock, also known as military time, displays the time based on the number of hours since midnight. Hours are numbered from 0 to 24 at midnight, eliminating the need for designations like am and pm. For instance, 23 hours have passed since the start of the current day at 23:00.
Use these guidelines to convert am or pm time to 24-hour format:
- Add 12 hours from midnight to 12:59 a.m.
- 12:49 a.m. equals 0:49 (12:49 – 12). Do nothing from 1 a.m. to noon.
- 11:49 a.m. equals 11:49 p.m. Do nothing between 12:01 and 12:59 p.m.
- 12:49 pm = 12:49 Add 12 hours from 1:00 pm to midnight.
- 1:49 p.m. equals 13:49 (1:49 x 12). To convert 24-hour time to 12-hour time, follow these steps:
- Add 12 hours between 0:00 (midnight) and 0:59, and use am.
- From 1:00 PM to 11:59 PM, simply add am after the time. 0:49 = 12:49 am
- From 12:00 to 12:59, simply add pm after the time. 11:49 = 11:49 am
- From 13:00 to 0:00, subtract 12 hours and use pm to get 12:49 pm.
- 13:49 is equal to 1:49 p.m. (13:49 minus 12).
Where Is the 12-Hour Format Used?
The 24-hour system is in use in the majority of countries today. However, a number of nations, including the United States, Canada (with the exception of Quebec), Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines, officially follow the 12-hour format, which includes am and pm.
Why are there 24 hours a day?
It is believed that the Egyptians divided the day into 24 equal parts. According to one account, the Egyptians used the base 12 to count the three joints in their fingers—not including the thumb—and this custom developed as a result.
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