From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,9fbc059a74d74032 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-05-30 07:33:20 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!newsfeed.mesh.ad.jp!sjc-peer.news.verio.net!news.verio.net!iad-read.news.verio.net.POSTED!kilgallen From: Kilgallen@eisner.decus.org.nospam (Larry Kilgallen) Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Leap Seconds Message-ID: References: <9elpii$30i$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3B0ED67B.E40A4E06@averstar.com> <9f0ciq$itb$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <9f2ue6$hcm$1@nh.pace.co.uk> Organization: LJK Software Date: 30 May 2001 10:33:18 -0500 NNTP-Posting-Host: 216.44.122.34 X-Complaints-To: abuse@verio.net X-Trace: iad-read.news.verio.net 991233199 216.44.122.34 (Wed, 30 May 2001 14:33:19 GMT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 30 May 2001 14:33:19 GMT Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:7880 Date: 2001-05-30T10:33:18-05:00 List-Id: In article <9f2ue6$hcm$1@nh.pace.co.uk>, "Marin David Condic" writes: > As I said, I could easily imagine situations in which leap-seconds are going > to be a big deal. You don't even need to be going to Saturn for it to be a > problem. Much relative navigation depends on very accurate timekeeping and > the speed of light. (186000 miles/second - it's not just a good idea, its > the law! :-) For relative timekeeping, you can throw out leap seconds and be > done with it. However, its a problem for absolute timekeeping. If someone > outside your system is giving you a time that has leap-seconds included in > it, then you need to know how many or you can't really be in synch - except > in a relative sense. Just like not counting leap years, right? Leap years (adding a day) compensate for the revolution of the earth around the sun, so we don't end up ((365/2)*(4/3)) years later with snow on the 4th of July in New York City. But I thought leap seconds compensated for the rotation of the earth, rather than its revolution around the sun, since otherwise it would eventually (12*60*60 leap seconds later) be very bright at midnight, local time at the equator. If I am going to Saturn I should not care about the rotation of the earth until I return.