Comments on the Debate over the Proposal to Redefine UTC

Abstract

In 2015 the World Radio Conference (WRC) is scheduled to consider a proposal that would redefine Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) through the elimination of leap seconds after a specified date. This paper discusses the benefits and drawbacks of the proposition. In general, terrestrial systems would be simplified and rendered more reliable in the absence of leap seconds, while systems that utilize the current near-equality between UT1 and UTC would require some adjustments. The systems that would benefit the most from a redefinition are related to commerce and navigation.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2014
Accession Number
ADA611283

Entities

People

  • Demetrios N. Matsakis

Organizations

  • United States Naval Observatory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Atomic Clocks
  • Celestial Navigation
  • Commerce
  • Communication Systems
  • Computations
  • Computers
  • Correlators
  • Department Of Defense
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Human Behavior
  • Navigation
  • Observatories
  • Optical Interferometers
  • Space Navigation
  • Standards
  • Time Standards
  • United States

Readers

  • Economics
  • Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Technology.
  • Systems Analysis and Design