4 ms·
True, but UTC drift calculations on earth are different from on the moon. Fundamentally there is another time standard on the moon. How we account for that is u
by nixpulvis 4y ago
True, but UTC drift calculations on earth are different from on the moon. Fundamentally there is another time standard on the moon. How we account for that is up to us, but it makes sense to formalize this IMO. You could perhaps try to first derive a galactic or stelar time standard, then make both the moon's and earth's a derivative, but that seems even more complex in a way, though perhaps the most elegant in another.
Point is, the moon experiences time slightly differently than the earth, so having a clear reference will help synchronization, both to familiar geocentric standards as well as while on the moon.
I don't think we should define days around the petty need of humans. Even calendars are setup to map roughly to larger systems like phases of the moon / tides or orbits around the sun. The fact that an astronaught needs to sleep many times in a single "day" should not be a concern for the reference day/time, but could perhaps influence the time zones?
- starkd 4y ago>> I don't think we should define days around the petty need of humans. Why not? Are you being considerate for alien life? As far as we know, humans are the only ones who are going to use it.
- makeitdouble 4y agoI read it as computers being the primary target for any clock system
- fluoridation 4y agoComputers don't really care about the current wall time. They just care about measuring time between events. If a piece of software about the current day of the week it's only because a person cares about it and wants to do something special on certain days of the week. So, yes, time systems should be designed around the needs of people.
- adastra22 4y agoThe time between events is different as measured on the Moon than on Earth. That's what is being talked about here.
- nixpulvis 4y agoI believe time systems should be designed around the physics of the natural systems we inhabit. This may help us mere humans better harmonize with the rest of that which makes up our worlds. This may sound a bit hippy dippy at first, but just consider how much light pollution effect other creatures, for a quick example.
- yencabulator 4y ago> True, but UTC drift calculations on earth are different from on the moon. Hey reference clock, what time do you see? Oh, it's X? And I'm at Y? Okay, I'll adjust my drift correction factor to Z. They might drift more than good modern-day clocks, and the latency to the reference clock might be higher, but the basic mechanism of correcting for the drift shouldn't be any different. What's the difference between taking a good clock to the moon, where it runs 56 microseconds fast each day, versus having a less-tuned oscillator that runs 56 microseconds fast each day?
- adastra22 4y agoIt's not drift. Time passes more quickly on the moon, to such an extent that there are 56 microseconds more each day on the lunar surface than on Earth. This is a an effect of general relativity. For everyday human-scale stuff, sure this doesn't matter. For precise scientific and industrial use cases, it does.
- yencabulator 4y agoI repeat myself: What's the difference between taking a good clock to the moon, where it runs 56 microseconds fast each day, versus having a less-tuned oscillator that runs 56 microseconds fast each day?
- zymhan 4y agoBecause of the need to convert between the two systems. It's not just about keeping time on the moon. It's reconciling that with other places in the solar system
- yencabulator 4y agoIf they run on UTC, and correct for drift like any clock needs to do, what else is there? What conversion, what two systems?
- 4y ago