Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Simply use the words noon and midnight instead of 12 p.m. or 12 a.m. “ A.m. ” means ante meridiem or “before midday” (to refer to times before noon), and “p.m.” stands for post meridiem or “after midday” (to refer to times after noon).
Instead of saying 12:00 p.m. or 12:00 a.m., it is best to simply stick with calling the times “noon” and “midnight.” This way you can eliminate any confusion between the “a.m.” and “p.m.” debate.
12 AM is midnight from the logic that it would be hour cero (0) or 00:00 hours, because 0 o’clock comes before 1 o’clock, and it is the start of the new day, and AM, since its midnight-noon or morning hours.
There is no widely accepted convention for how midday and midnight should be represented: in English-speaking countries, "12 p.m." indicates 12 o'clock noon, while "12 a.m." means 12 o'clock midnight.
Since noon is neither before noon nor after noon, a designation of either a.m. or p.m. is incorrect. Also, midnight is both twelve hours before noon and twelve hours after noon. It is fair to say, however, that the shortest measurable duration after noon should be designated as p.m.
Is 12:00 noon 12 AM or PM? Lack of precision is fine if we are arranging a work meeting or a time to catch up for a coffee, but if we are arranging something that could happen around midnight or noon (for example a flight or train journey) we need to know exactly what time we are talking about.
To clear up any misunderstandings: noon is 12 PM and midnight is 12 AM. But why does this matter, and how does it tie into broader concepts like the 24-hour clock and global timekeeping standards? Let’s dive deeper into these intricacies.