[time-nuts] Why not TAI? (was: The future of UTC)

[Magnus Danielson]

On 10/08/11 21:03, Mike S wrote:
> At 02:42 PM 8/10/2011, Magnus Danielson wrote...
>> Much of todays "proliferation of UTC" or whatever it is being called,
>> is due to the need of a TAI-like scale in a number of systems due to
>> technical reasons. The time-lords could have avoided that from the
>> start by acknowledging that use of TAI would be as valid as the use of
>> UTC, where UTC is better suited as "legal time" basis while TAI is
>> better suited for internal time in systems. They now tries to bend UTC
>> itself into a UTC or TAI derivate.
>
> If they don't want people to use TAI for the TAI-like timescale, then
> use GPS or SMPTE, or LORAN, which are the same, only different. Taking
> the one widely distributed timescale which is earth rotation based and
> removing that characteristic is lunacy, especially when there are so
> many other suitable choices.

You didn't get the tongue-in-cheek joke, now did you? I simply created 
another name for TAI. GPS time would be a good candidate for many uses.

> And who, exactly, says "don't use TAI?" Is this documented somewhere, or
> do you have to be a member of the secret time society which wants to
> control it all?

Obviously there is some group of people having the idea that they rule 
this part of the world, for whatever reasons they see fit they seem to 
say "Don't use TAI" without caring for the needs, and then complain 
about GPS having it's own TAI-derivate for instance. Strange.

Cheers,
Magnus