[LEAPSECS] Lets get REAL about time.

[Mark Calabretta]

On Tue 2012/01/24 07:18:36 -0800, Steve Allen wrote
in a message to: Leap Second Discussion List <leapsecs at leapsecond.com>


>The ones with WWVB

>receivers in them do a little dance every night when nobody is

>watching and the signal is strong, and that dance looks a lot

>like the handling of a leap second.


There are two basic types of analogue clock display.  One where the
second hand steps around the dial from second to second (thus
disawowing sub-second timekeeping), and the other where it moves
smoothly and continuously.  It is interesting to contemplate how a
leap second would appear on each were it to be implemented.

In the former, on reaching 60, the second hand would stay there for 2
seconds thus making it impossible to track time during a leap second.

In the latter, the second hand would move continuously past 60 to 01
second and immediately flick back to 60, thus making it possible to
reckon time during a leap second.

Regards, Mark