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From: dap@ihopa.UUCP (afsd)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Atomic clocks - Who knows if they're correct?
Message-ID: <163@ihopa.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 19-Feb-84 15:46:16 EST
Article-I.D.: ihopa.163
Posted: Sun Feb 19 15:46:16 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 20-Feb-84 08:23:39 EST
References: <229@heurikon.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 20

I've got a question that is related to Jeffrey Mattox's question regarding
atomic clocks.  EVERY clock, even atomic ones, are not in perfect agreement
with the sun so that sooner or later they are going to show the time as
midnight when the sun is high in the sky.  I realize that this is going to
be next to forever before it happens, but assuming we don't all go up in
World War III or some kind of solar conflagration, it is inevitable.  My
question is: What is going to happen?  Is there some sort of committee to
keep track of this drift and reset the atomic clock if necessary?  If so,
how do they recognize that a drift has taken place?  It would require a
more accurate clock that the atomic clock to detect it unless somebody
just happens to notice that the sun is setting at 3AM on the equator.

I think that this is just an academic question and the sun itself may
noticeably slow down before this happens (more properly, at least from
our solar system's viewpoint, the earth may slow down) but I'm wondering
if anyone has any contingency plans for this future drift or if we're
going to let night slowly drift into day.

Darrell Plank
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