[LEAPSECS] Consensus building?

[Warner Losh]

On 02/02/2011 05:28, Stephen Colebourne wrote:

> On 2 February 2011 12:20, Tony Finch<dot at dotat.at>  wrote:

>> On Wed, 2 Feb 2011, Stephen Colebourne wrote:

>>

>>> - the solar-day is a commonly used unit of measurement

>> Is it? I would agree that some kind of day is a commonly used unit of

>> measurment, but I am not sure it's the solar day.

> Great :-) A disagreement yields insight. So what statement similar in

> style is agreed?

>

> - a day is a commonly used unit of measurement

> - a day is informally defined in line with the rising and setting of the Sun

> - a solar-day is...


The problem is that many of these definitions are approximately 
correct.  A day can mean anything from sunrise to sunrise, to exactly 24 
hours to the more informal 'until close of business today or tomorrow'

If I have 180 days to pay a loan, I have to pay it by a certain time, 
UTC, on the 180th day or I'm in default.  In this definition, the earth 
enters into it only to the extent that UTC varies from 86400s days 
during that interval.  This might mean that it will be a little more or 
a little less than 180 solar days.

Warner