Re: [LEAPSECS] 24:00 versus 00:00

From: Ed Davies <ls_at_edavies.nildram.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2006 09:49:21 +0000

Ed Davies scripsit:
>> If only the 24:00 for end of day notation wasn't in the way
>> we could look at positive leap seconds as just being the
>> result of deeming certain days to be a second longer than
>> most and just use 24:00:00. We wouldn't have to muck with
>> the lengths of any of the hours or minutes within that day.

John Cowan replied:
> That amounts to saying that some days have 24 hours, whereas others
> have 25 hours, 24 of them being 3600 seconds long and the 25th being
> 1 second long. IMHO that is worse.

No, it amounts to saying that some days are 24 hours and 1 second
long. When you're half a second from the end of such a day you
are 24 hours, zero minutes and half a second from the start.

If you had a 1'6" piece of string you wouldn't say it's a two
foot piece of string but the second foot is only 152.4 mm long.
(Well, I think you wouldn't, though I think some politicians
might.)

As Rob has just pointed out in a parallel thread 23:59:60.5
and 24:00:00.5 can be treated as equivalent. It just seems
to me that the second of these notations fits in with the
normal use of sexagesimal somewhat better.

Ed.
Received on Fri Feb 17 2006 - 01:50:28 PST