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November 14, 2005
Time on our side
The Hungarian edition of National Geographic Magazine takes the time to deconstruct the current debate about the fourth dimension. As always, the U.S. figures prominently as a standard bearer. Unlike thier historic resistance to the metric system, however, it appears that the States are pushing for a revolution in the world seconds and minutes. At stake are new technologies, including military ones, as such devices depend on precision for their effectiveness.
The basic premise is that Earth's rotation time isn't exactly 24 hours but a little less, and as such these little parts make about a second every year. They effectively add szokomasodperc (extra seconds--the equivalent of a leap year) to clocks evey year. This allows for the correction of time to Earth's movement.
Thus, a problem is evident for atomic clocks, where each miniscule split second counts, because these clocks are used by telescopes, GPS systems, missile guidance systems, satellites and other instruments vital to security. The Americans are arguing that time's dependence on Earth movement should decrease, and that we should abandon the extraseconds entirely.
What is the general sense in the EU? That this is an attempt to further militarize big science, suspicious given an American "inability to understand the utility of grams and meters over pounds and yards."
Posted November 14, 2005 09:27 PM
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