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Discover the expert in you.
There are nine standard time zones in the United States. Atlantic Standard Time (AST), Eastern Standard Time (EST), Central Standard Time (CST), Mountain Standard Time (MST), Pacific Standard Time (PST), Alaskan Standard Time (AKST), Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HST), Samoa Standard Time (UTC-11) and Chamorro Standard Time (UTC+10). Whether traveling across the country or scheduling a conference call, failing to convert time zones may result in missed appointments and opportunities. Converting Pacific Time to Central Time is a common process that may be accomplished by following these simple steps.
There are many reasons why you may need to convert time from one time zone to another. According to Time.gov, there are four time zones that cover the continental United States. They are, from east coast to west coast, Eastern time zone, Central time zone, Mountain time zone and Pacific time zone. According to World Atlas.com, Eastern time and Pacific time are three hours apart and Central time and Pacific time are two hours apart, with Central time being ahead of Pacific time.
In the late 19th century, rail travel revealed scheduling problems because each city lying on an east-west route relied on the sun to determine local time. This meant a difference of one minute for every 12 miles of distance. The only solution to this problem was to standardize time across broad geographic areas.
Depending on the sun to determine local time means advancing your watch by roughly one minute every time you move east by a mile. To quell the havoc this produces on schedules, the U.S. Naval Observatory introduced four time zones for the continental U.S. in 1883.
