[time-nuts] The future of UTC

Steve Rooke sar10538 at gmail.com
Fri Jul 15 14:24:31 UTC 2011


On 16 July 2011 01:22, Jim Lux <jimlux at earthlink.net> wrote:
> On 7/15/11 3:17 AM, Steve Rooke wrote:
>>
> why stay with the ridiculous base 60 system inherited from the Babylonians?
>
> Why not decimalize it.  Oh wait, that was tried a few hundred years ago, but
> perhaps the time is now right?  If the UK can decimalize pounds, shillings,
> and pence, perhaps it is time to bow to the decimal hegemony.

I didn't see any smilies but it's a good point, although trying to get
the world to swallow that pill when some countries are using the
lunisolar calendar, which actually makes a lot of sense when you
listen to them but to us it seems to hark back to the dark ages.

So do you propose 10 hours a day with 100 minutes and 100 seconds...
Shame we could not decimalise the year as well, stupid earth taking
365 and a bit days to complete an orbit. No, let's drop the whole day
thing, we have electric light now so day and night no longer matter,
our decimal days could fit with a decimal year.

And back on earth, we have coped for centuries with the existing
system without the need of femto-second accuracy of the time. Yes, we
need precise measurement of a period standard and therefore a
frequency standard but the two are not the same thing or have the same
needs.

Steve

> As I write this at Sextidi 26 Messiador an CCXIX a 5:63:49 t.m.P.
>
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-- 
Steve Rooke - ZL3TUV & G8KVD
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.
- Einstein



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