text: TAI was henceforth a realisation of TT, with the equation TT(TAI) = TAI + 32.184 s.The continued existence of TAI was questioned in a 2007 letter from the BIPM to the ITU-R which stated, "In the case of a redefinition of UTC without leap seconds, the CCTF would consider discussing the possibility of suppressing TAI, as it would remain parallel to the continuous UTC." Relation to UTC Contrary to TAI, UTC is a discontinuous time scale.It is occasionally adjusted by leap seconds.Between these adjustments, it is composed of segments that are mapped to atomic time by a constant offset.From its beginning in 1961 through December 1971, the adjustments were made regularly in fractional leap seconds so that UTC approximated UT2.Afterward, these adjustments were made only in whole seconds to approximate UT1.This was a compromise arrangement in order to enable a publicly broadcast time scale.The less frequent whole-second adjustments meant that the time scale would be more stable and easier to synchronize internationally.The fact that it continues to approximate UT1 means that tasks such as navigation which require a source of Universal Time continue to be well served by the public broadcast of UTC.See also Clock synchronization Time and frequency transfer Notes References Footnotes Bibliography External links BIPM technical services: Time Metrology Time and Frequency Section - National Physical Laboratory, UK IERS website NIST Web Clock FAQs History of time scales NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Atomic Clock Japan Standard Time Project, NICT, Japan Standard of time definition: UTC, GPS, LORAN and TAI Time scales