With Earth rotating faster, scientists are considering shaving a second off our clocks

“We are heading towards a negative jump; “It’s just a matter of when,” he said. dennis mccarthyformer director of United States Naval Observatorywho did not participate in the study.

study, led by duncan agnewgeophysicist of Scripps Institution of Oceanography of University of California In San DiegoThis unprecedented event is attributed to several factors, including changes in Earth’s hot liquid core and the accelerated melting of polar ice.

“It’s not a huge change in the rotation land It’s going to cause some havoc, but it’s something doable. “This is another sign that we are in very unusual times,” Agnew said. This process demonstrates how subtle changes in the distribution of mass and energy within a planet can have pronounced effects on our perception of time.

Since the adoption of atomic clocks as the official time standard more than 55 years ago, a discrepancy has developed between astronomical and atomic time.

Astronomical time lags behind atomic time by 2.5 milliseconds each day, largely due to tides caused by lunar drag. To compensate, international timekeepers began adding extra seconds in 1972, known as leap seconds. However, it has gained momentum recently. land This has created the possibility of making adverse adjustments.

“What is the need for adjustment at this time when it causes so many problems?” McCarthy asked, pointing to the complexities that the leap second has created in the global computing system.

ABC News Recalled that, in 2012, problems were encountered due to adjustments to critical systems, which affected platforms and companies reddit, linux And Qantas Airlines, The situation is further complicated by the fact that satellite systems Russia Depending on astronomical time, problems may arise if the leap second is removed.

To address these challenges, in 2022, global time managers decided that from the 2030s they would change the standards for inserting or removing leap seconds, making its use much less likely. Meanwhile, technology companies like Google And Amazon Have implemented their own solutions to the problem, “stretching out” fractions of a second throughout the day.

CBS News He said that due to the unpredictable nature of factors affecting the Earth’s rotation, experts are divided on whether it would actually be necessary to implement negative leap seconds.

“It is not a process in which the past is a good predictor of the future,” express Judah Levinphysical division of time and frequency National Institute of Standards and TechnologySuggesting that long-term trends are difficult to predict accurately.