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Originally Posted by Robert Tulip
This comment opens up the definition of time, ie whether time is inherent in nature or is solely a function of human knowledge. By ‘basic’ I did not mean ‘scientifically precise and constant’ but ‘underlying source’.
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I was responding to your comment "The structure of time is geocentric in its basic levels of measurement, and this basic measure has an important place within a coherent scientific framework." That may be your thesis, but so far it is not established. As I pointed out (and you agreed there), the basis for our measure of time has not been geocentric for a long time.
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For the scales and rhythms I am discussing the exact precision of the caesium second is not relevant.
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I'm behind your investigations 100 percent, but I don't think you should assert your thesis before it is proved, that's all. We haven't seen much support for the geocentric measure of time, as you seem to mean it, having "an important place within a coherent scientific framework."
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It might cause a small variance in the period of the signs (eg a solstice may be 3.01 months after the preceeding equinox rather than exactly 3 months).
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I'm not sure what exactly 3 months would be (what is an exact month?
), but looking at my starware ephemeris, it says that the next solstice is followed by the next equinox very close to 89 days later. However, the solstice after that waits over 93 and a half days for the next equinox. That's a difference of a bit more than 0.01 month--more than 0.15 month, probably.
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Sure, having a clock that goes fast and slow depending on the velocity of the earth would be quite inconvenient for our daily human use, but, in a sense I am arguing that just such a clock has been dealt to us by nature, so it is useful to try to understand it.
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That's what I want to do
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As I noted above, if ellipticity causes less than a few hours difference in the length of time between the four turning points of the year, and these differences are entirely predictable and regular, that still counts as clockwork for these purposes.
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As I said, it seems to be a few days, rather than a few hours.