[time-nuts] Re: possible negative leap second

[Rsec Van der leij]

> On 30 Mar 2024, at 12:18, Steve Allen via time-nuts <time-nuts at lists.febo.com> wrote:
> 
> UTC with leap seconds is the time scale that was "good enough for
> international government work" until it became expedient to rewrite
> national laws about time.  That was the goal in 1970.

And that is exactly what we got. A worldwide consistent time for us humans, and the machines use whatever is most convenient. 

I'm typing this on an iPad, that has GNSS built in. The clocks determining my exact location run UT1 when they use (US) GPS, run GTS (which is directly derived from TAI) when using Galileo and STFR (which is referenced to UTC+3, and uses leap seconds) when using GLONASS. And so on. 

However: I get my local time. CET. (CEST will be tomorrow.) Less than a second difference from TAI + 37 leapseconds. 50 µs if I read the graph correctly.

A man with one clock knows the time. A man with two clocks is never sure of the right time.

regards,
-- 

Ruben