SSM-Clock Stamp – Core Ideas & Day-one Benefits (0D)

Core ideas (at a glance)

  • Human-verifiable timecode (from UTC only):
    wrap360(x) = x - 360*floor(x/360)
    theta_deg = wrap360( (unix_seconds / 86400) * 360 )
    rasi_idx = floor(theta_deg / 30)
    These produce interpretable angles/sectors rather than random nonces.
  • Content integrity: h_file = sha256(file_bytes) (or algo via kv:algo).
  • Tamper-evident ordering: chain_k = H_chain( ascii(chain_{k-1} + "|" + stamp_core_k) ) with chain_0 = "0"*64.
  • Simple, stable stamp (optional metadata tail):
    Base: SSMCLOCK1|iso_utc|rasi_idx|theta_deg|sha256(file)|chain
    Optional: |kv:key=value;... (forward-compatible; unknown keys ignored)
  • Anchors for public time: rollup_D = sha256( ascii(Stamp_1 "|" ... "|" Stamp_n) ) using canonical sort by (iso_utc, stamp_core, chain).

Day-one benefits

  • Integrity: any byte change flips sha256(file) → verification fails.
  • Ordering: any deletion/reordering breaks the next chain_k immediately.
  • Offline verification: all checks are local; no servers, PKI, or blockchain.
  • Reproducibility: plain-ASCII rules; anyone can recompute from inputs.
  • Composability: the kv: tail carries policy/algorithms/provenance without changing core math.

Security posture (clear and candid)

  • Tamper-evident, not a time oracle. The stamp proves file integrity and local order. Absolute wall-clock claims come from publishing anchors: a daily rollup_D yields a public no-later-than bound for the set.
  • Bounded backdating window. Policy: max_backdating_window_sec <= anchor_period_sec. Faster, redundant anchors shrink the attacker’s offline window at low cost.
  • Deterministic formatting. theta_deg prints with exactly theta_prec digits (default 5) under IEEE-754 binary64 rounding; iso_utc is YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ; leap second 23:59:60 is invalid.

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