[LEAPSECS] What's the point?

[Steve Allen]

On Tue 2011-02-08T21:56:35 +0000, Poul-Henning Kamp hath writ:

> If you read the minutes of the conference, you will find that at

> best it amounts to a joint proposal on "terms of reference" for

> geographical coordinates, and that serveral questions of timekeeping

> specifically a declared "out of scope" along the way.


The fact is that another generation will have to die before the
teachers, students, textbooks and software written by them get
accustomed to the fact that time is not longitude.


> Since then the longitude and latitude has moved into the care

> of whoever it is that defines things lige WGS84 and the second

> has moved into BIPM's basement.


longitude and latitude belong to the IERS.


> So substance wise, there is as far as I can tell nothing left

> of the 1884 conference, apart from the heartfelt thanks to

> the US president for calling and hosting the conference.


It is the context for understanding other things.


> Further evidence of this is that UN registers all internation

> treaties its member states have entered into, in accordance with

> the UN charters article 102, and you can see all of these treaties

> at http://treaties.un.org


In there I do not find the ITU-R's Radio Regulations, so perhaps the
whole point of this mail list is moot, for we are not bound to follow
them?

In there I also do not find Meter Convention, so perhaps the UN list
is not comprehensive.  The Meter Convention does say this
http://www1.bipm.org/jsp/en/ViewCGPMResolution.jsp?CGPM=15&RES=5
and the context for that is CCIR Recommendation TF.460-1.  I believe
that revision of TF.460 specifies a tolerance of 1 second as well as
saying "GMT".

--
Steve Allen                 <sla at ucolick.org>                WGS-84 (GPS)
UCO/Lick Observatory        Natural Sciences II, Room 165    Lat  +36.99855
University of California    Voice: +1 831 459 3046           Lng -122.06015
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