Re: [LEAPSECS] interoperability

From: John Cowan <cowan_at_CCIL.ORG>
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 02:03:28 -0500

Rob Seaman scripsit:

> The question is: how precisely does this differ from the situation
> now or in the past? Whether by fiat or not, some common worldwide
> "stage two" clock must exist.

Again, no it doesn't need to exist.

We need a uniform time scale like TAI. And we need local civil time
for all the 400-odd jurisdictions in the world today. If other people
need other timescales (and they do), there's no reason that should
affect the two requirements above.

> But how in practice is it envisaged that a scheme
> for migrating time zones versus TAI would work, precisely?

Straightforwardly. Each locality decides when and how to adjust both
its offset from TAI and its seasonal transition function (if any),
just as it does today. What we abandon is a universal time tightly
synchronized to Earth rotation in favor of a universal time
independent of earth rotation plus 400+ local civil times roughly
synchronized to Earth rotation containing various glitches.

--
We pledge allegiance to the penguin             John Cowan
and to the intellectual property regime         cowan_at_ccil.org
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software for all.               --Julian Dibbell on Brazil, edited
Received on Sun Jan 08 2006 - 23:03:51 PST

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