[LEAPSECS] h2g2

[M. Warner Losh]

In message: <A2091D42-6F8A-4A3A-A513-EF7B195D4301 at batten.eu.org>
            Ian Batten <igb at batten.eu.org> writes:

: We could drift there by applying 1800 leap seconds, one a night for

: five years :-)


All kidding aside, and getting my ob-leap-second post in, I think time
zones are the main reason that we can ditch leap seconds.  Civil time
really doesn't need them, as civil time (as opposed to legal
definitions) doesn't care WHAT time it is, just that everybody agree
on the SAME time.  Nobody cares here that solar time and civil time
are 43 minutes off.  If we accumulate even an hour of leap seconds,
civil time will cope just fine.  If it is getting light or dark too
early or late, people will just change the time zones.  This is a very
common occurrence, and one that will happen naturally before it is
midnight with the sun over head.

Now, there are other reasons that might argue against the change
(legal definitions, broadcast formats of DUT1, etc), but now that we
have standard time zones, and we tinker with them a lot, I think it
would be better to have the alignment to the earth handled in the next
layer up once every other generation or so...  I don't think the UTC
leap hour will ever happen, but I won't be around to see it one way or
another.

Warner