Time Zone Converter
Conversion Logic
Time conversion uses the browser's built-in Internationalization API (`Intl`) to handle different time zones, including Daylight Saving Time (DST) rules based on the selected date.
Understanding Time Zones
Time zones are regions of the globe that observe a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. They generally follow the boundaries of countries and their subdivisions. Standard time zones were established in the late 19th century to synchronize railway schedules and facilitate global communication, largely replacing localized solar time.
The concept evolved from the need for consistent timekeeping across long distances, especially with the advent of railroads and telegraphs. Sir Sandford Fleming is credited with proposing a worldwide system of time zones in the 1870s, leading to the International Meridian Conference in 1884, which established Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), now Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), as the prime meridian. Most time zones are offset from UTC by a whole number of hours, though some have 30 or 45-minute offsets.
A time zone converter is essential for scheduling international meetings, planning travel, coordinating global events, and understanding timestamps from different parts of the world. It accounts for the different offsets from UTC and the complexities of Daylight Saving Time (DST), where applicable, providing the corresponding time in the target location for a given time in the source location.