Perceived time difference

[davedelong]

There's no actual time difference between 1 PM Pacific Time and 4 PM Eastern Time, but there is a perceived difference based on the different time zones.

There should be an "easy" way to capture this perceived difference.

[Mordil]

What does a difference represent today between two time periods in different regions?

If it represents the actual difference (in the example given, there's no difference at all), then perhaps a difference can gain a new property of perceived or observed that provides the difference one expects with time zones (3 hour difference)

If it represents the perceived difference (3 hours, in said example), then the opposite? It gains a natural or actual difference (no difference)