TAI
Units & Measurements abbreviation · Time Zone
| Stands for | International Atomic Time |
|---|---|
| Categories | Units & Measurements |
TAI stands for International Atomic Time, a time zone abbreviation.
A continuous time scale computed by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures from about 450 atomic clocks in more than 80 laboratories worldwide. It never adds leap seconds, so it currently runs exactly 37 seconds ahead of UTC.
Example: Spacecraft clocks are referenced to TAI to avoid jumps from leap seconds.
Usage notes
The abbreviation follows French temps atomique international. TAI was aligned with astronomical time in 1958 and has drifted ahead as Earth's rotation slowed. GPS time is a related continuous scale that started in 1980 and sits a fixed 19 seconds behind TAI, so it is currently 18 seconds ahead of UTC.
Related abbreviations
More time zone abbreviations
- PKT – Pakistan Standard Time
- PST – Pacific Standard Time
- PT – Pacific Time
- SAST – South African Standard Time
- SGT – Singapore Standard Time
- SST – Samoa Standard Time
- TRT – Turkey Time
- UT1 – Universal Time 1
- UTC – Coordinated Universal Time
- WAT – West Africa Time
- WEST – Western European Summer Time
- WET – Western European Time