A simple internationally accepted calendar time NOT based on TIME ZONES
could be advantageous in several respects.

Main requirements for such a calendar are:

  1) Internal simplicity
  2) Independence of religions and cultures
  3) A clear relation to the most widespread calendar

I propose here a solution to these requirements which may serve at 
Least as an encouragement to others to find a better one.

The world-wide dominant international time, GREENWICH MEAN TIME, is 
based on the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar is not only 
strongly linked to Christianity but also far from being simple. It is 
based on six different units of time: year, month, day, hour, minute 
and second (with decimal places).

All but two (year and day) of these six units of time should be
discarded in a new calendar because of internal simplicity. Time
calculations will then become both simpler and more transparent.

An important point of any calendar is its start. A compromise between 
the requirements 2) and 3) is a start on 1 January 2000, at 00:00:00 
GMT. This moment becomes 0:000.0 in the new calendar.

   0:000      2000/01/01
   0:000.1    2000/01/01, 02:24:00
   0:000.2    2000/01/01, 04:48:00
   0:000.5    2000/01/01, 12:00:00
   0:000.999  2000/01/01, 23:58:33.6
   0:001.001  2000/01/02, 00:01:26.4
   0:030      2000/01/31
   0:031      2000/02/01
   0:365.9    2000/12/31, 21:36:00
   1:364.5    2001/12/31, 12:00:00
   9:364      2009/12/31

An effective solution to expressing times and dates before calendar 
start consists in introducing a further digit:

   neg = n = -1

This digit should be used only at the first position of a number.

   n37 = -1*100 + 3*10 + 7 = -63
   137 =  1*100 + 3*10 + 7

So we can express the years before calendar start without mirage at the 
origin of the calendar as in present-time calendars.

    1999      n9  neg nine
    1990      n0  neg zero
    1945     n45  twoneg four five
    1900     n00  twoneg zero (zero)
    1899    n899  threeneg eight zero four
    1001    n001  threeneg zero seven nine
    1000    n000  threeneg zero (zero (zero))
     999   n8999  fourneg eight nine nine nine
       1   n8001  fourneg eight zero zero one
       0   n8000  fourneg eight (zero (zero (zero)))
      -1   n7999  fourneg seven nine nine nine
    -322   n7678  fourneg seven six seven eight
   -1000   n7000  fourneg seven
   -2000   n6000  fourneg six
   -8000   n0000  fourneg zero
  -98000  n00000  fiveneg zero
 -998000 n000000  sixneg zero

(It could also be useful to introduce in additon to an INTERNATIONAL 
 CALENDAR an ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR which is based on the time unit 
 year (365.2422 days) alone, whereas the former is based on days and 
 years of either 365 or 366 days. Because of this leap year problem, 
 there is at most one year which can start at exactly the same time 
 according to both calendars. Unfortunately the begin of the year zero, 
 a leap year, does not qualify for synchronization between the two 
 calendars.) 

n9:361.9 (IC time)                                      n9.99 (AC time)

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