However, atomic time and "earth time" effectively drift apart, and that is why periodically we have leap seconds to bring the two closer together again. So we still need the astronomical measurements.
Think of it as atomic time being the "linear" reference, and earth time a course saw tooth, which periodically comes into sync with the addition (or subtraction) of leap seconds. Rob K -----Original Message----- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of J. Forster Sent: 14 July 2011 2:41 PM To: xfor...@citynet.net; Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Japan Quake May Have Shortened Earth Days, Moved Axis So? That statement clearly imlies the Earth's period was shortened aganst some standard. If the Earth was the standard, how could it be shortened with respect to itself? It can't be. Time standards are atomic now. -John =================== > "Calculations indicate that by changing the distribution of Earth's > mass, the Japanese earthquake should have caused Earth to rotate a bit > faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 microseconds". > > http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/japanquake/earth20110314.htm > l > > Will > > > _______________________________________________ > time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to > https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts > and follow the instructions there. > > _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
