A statement you will sometimes hear people say is that a day is not 24 hours but is really 23 hr.56 min.and 4 sec.What does this refer to?
A)The original definition of the hour was off,and with more accurate atomic clocks we now realize the real day is this length.
B)This is sidereal time,not solar time; a solar day is 24 hours.
C)Our clocks drift that much each day,and we average out the affect with period time shifts,like leap years and leap seconds.
D)It is just an urban geek myth; the day really is 24 hours long.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This statement refers to the difference between sidereal time (the time it takes for the Earth to make one complete rotation relative to the stars) and solar time (the time it takes for the Earth to make one complete rotation relative to the Sun). The Earth's rotation around its axis takes about 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds relative to the stars (sidereal time), but because the Earth is also moving in orbit around the Sun, it takes an additional 4 minutes and about 1 degree of rotation for the Sun to appear in the same position in the sky (solar time), making a solar day about 24 hours long.

A Statement You Will Sometimes Hear People Say Is That