“If only there were fewer hours a day,” no one ever said.
Nevertheless, the earth slows down for no one. According to world-time officials, it is actually accelerating, prompting proposals to shorten the minute by a second, reports Telegraph.
Data show that our former daily rotation of 24 hours decreases incrementally, making the day slightly shorter. According to TimeAndDate.com, for example, Sunday lasted only 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59.9998927 seconds. And although the rotational speed of the planet may accelerate or decrease slightly from day to day due to natural earthly and celestial changes, astronomical calendar trends indicate that the past year has generally become shorter.
For example, 2020 beat the shortest day of 2005 28 times, and 2021 is about 19 milliseconds less than a normal year, with an average daily deficit of 0.5 milliseconds.
The world’s watches are used to tampering with time. Since the development of the atomic clock in the 60’s, 27 times ‘leap seconds’ have been added to make up slow down according to EarthSky.org. The last time for the adaptation, however, was in 2016. Since then, the earth has begun to rotate faster than usual, and now scientists are suggesting that a possible ‘negative leap second’ is to bring time into equilibrium with our position in space.
“It is absolutely correct that the earth is now spinning faster than ever in the last 50 years,” Peter Whibberley, senior research scientist at the Time and Frequency Group of the National Physical Laboratory, told the Telegraph.
“It is quite possible that a negative leap second will be needed if the rotation of the earth rises further, but it is too early to say whether this is likely to happen,” Whibberley continued. He added that an “international discussion … on the future of leap seconds” would determine whether or not timekeepers continue their efforts to make up for lost time.
The fractional difference may not be felt on an individual scale, but the implications are critical to science and technology, as satellite communications and navigation systems depend on timing that matches the cosmos.
The Paris-based International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service is accused of declaring planned leaps seconds to the world’s countries, but some argue that the use of adding and removing seconds to correct time is more confusing. can cause as well. In 2012, an extra jump second caused server levels on a number of websites, including Reddit, Yelp and LinkedIn, while those using Linux operating systems and software were also disrupted by Javascript.
As a result, some national leaders have insisted on eliminating the scary secondary corrections altogether in favor of the use of an unbound atomic clock – shorter days and all. According to Telegraph, the decision will eventually be left to the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2023.