The Earth is spinning faster now than it did in the last half century, according to official data.
Yep, scientists say the earth is actually turning so fast right now that the length of a current day is “never so small” shorter than 24 hours.
Now that the world is spinning at a faster pace, timekeepers are considering applying a ‘second-place negative jump’ to account for this difference.
Scientists have added 27 ‘jump seconds’ since the 1970s, to deal with the Earth’s frontal times where it spins more slowly, but they have never made a second ‘negative jump’. in history.
The idea is that this would bring back solar time (which focuses on the speed of the Earth’s rotation) and atomic time (measured by atomic clocks).
Experts are currently debating whether this second one needs to be removed.
“It is certainly right that the Earth is spinning faster now than at any time in the last 50 years,” said Peter Whibberley, a senior research scientist with the National Physical time and frequency group Laboratory, to the Telegraph.
“It is quite possible that a negative jump will be needed if the Earth’s rotation rate rises further, but it is too early to say whether this is likely to happen.
“International discussions are also ongoing about the future of leap seconds, and it is also possible that the need for a negative jump could either lead to the end of jumping seconds for good. . “
The thing to remember is that even if a second is removed from the world’s atomic clock, it will not affect you, or your own sense of time – your watch and phone are certainly not detailed enough. to sense any difference.
The atomic clock is just a way for scientists to keep a precise record of the length of the day, down to the second.
It has been in use since the 1960s, and for the past 50 years scientists have discovered that the Earth spun in a fraction of less than 24 hours (86,400 seconds) per day, on average.
In mid-2020, however, they noticed that the earth is often orbiting completely in less than 86,400 seconds.
July 19, 2020, was 1.4602 milliseconds shorter than the full 24 hours – making it the shortest day on record since records began.
2 months agoTo give you an idea of how things are accelerating, the shortest day before this year was recorded in 2005, but this has now exceeded 28 hours in the last 12 months.
In fact, an average full day now passes 0.5 seconds ahead of a full 24 hours.
Now that we know what you are thinking, what is the effect of 0.5 seconds on the atomic clock if we leave it alone?
But scientists are concerned that it could have a lasting effect if left unattended, seeing as satellites and communications equipment need to align real-time with solar time to maintain accuracy.
That’s why the Paris-based International Earth Summit Service had timekeepers to add ‘leap seconds’ to a day in the past, to align the solar and atomic clocks.
The second jump was made on New Year’s Eve 2016.
However, seeing as the Earth has been steadily slowing rather than accelerating its spin, there was no need to add a second negative jump.
There are many factors affecting the planet’s spin, according to scientists, including lunar eclipse, mountain erosion and snow levels.
Scientists are also studying whether global warming could affect the earth’s vitality, with heavy snow and the disappearance of snow caps.
The debate over the second leap comes with the fact that much of today’s technology is based around what they call “real time” (which still works with the assumption that every minute will last. always 60 seconds).
Critics say that for this reason, putting a negative jump in the second could lead to digital issues, and websites falling apart.
Instead, some have suggested shifting the earth’s clocks from solar to atomic.
Phew, very complicated, right?