U.S. Scientists Call for a Time Change

saqmaster writes "The BBC reported yesterday that U.S. scientists want to change the current system which keeps clocks in sync with solar time by adding a leap second every 18 months or so. This has rattled a few cages with the scientists and operators involved in GMT-related projects and facilities as it would effectively remove the importance of the meridian from timing. "

Comments

One country controling the Prime Meridian

[Snarfangel]

...is clearly out of step with the natural aspirations of the rest of the world. What if they were to use that control for evil purposes? I think the UN should wrest control of the "top-level meridian" from those monopolists in the UK forthwith!

Re:Why not adopt a universal ttime?

[coaxial]

Why not just forget about time zones, day light savings and create a new universal global time.

Because that would be incredibly dumb.

First, the vast majority of people the world during daylight hours (only 20% work during night in industrialized countries, and no one works at night in pre-industrial nations.), so your "outgrowing" observation is wrong.

Second, you're talking about arbitrarily making half the world's population nocturnal. In case you haven't noticed, but humans are not nocturnal creatures. Human circadian rhythms are linked to the length of daylight. Humans become depressed when not exposed to sunlight. Humans require sunlight to manufacture vitamin D in the skin. Humans like to be able to see, and we can't see too well at night. (That's why we have a primeval fear of the dark.)

There are no doubt many other biological reasons. These are just the ones off the top of my head.

Re:Becasue that would change

[Dirtside]

This idea comes up a lot, but it has several fatal flaws.

1) Who gets to have local daylight be their waking time? Under your system, some time zones would be perpetually condemned to life in the dark. People will not accept that. Most people like being up and about during daylight.

2) A lot of jobs would require lots of expensive electric lighting if they had to be done at night. When you work during the day, you get free light. Construction, farming, or anything that involves outdoor areas would be more expensive.

3) Humans evolved diurnally; a lot of our biology depends on being exposed to sunlight during our waking hours. Children who had the bad luck to be in time zones where they spent most of daylight asleep would have trouble producing sufficient melatonin, which is a hormone essential for proper physical growth and development.

4) Also, there's the problem that a lot of children would be walking to school in the middle of the night. This causes safety issues for people who are *already* less visible to automobiles.

5) The changeover costs would be titanic, and the actual gain would be tiny. Despite your complaints about math, most people who need to deal with time zones do not have significant difficulty doing so.

Ever have a conference call with people in 4 or more timezones?

No, and neither have 95% of the people on the planet. You think it's a good idea to change something this critical so that you can find life infinitesimally more convenient?