Saturday, June 30, 2018

Hold On A Sec

Wait for it...there.  I just observed leap second.

Every now and then a leap second needs to be scheduled to keep the clocks on the right time.  They're done either in the middle of the year (today) or the end.  Leap second is actually scheduled for the end of the day, but I decided to a do it a little early, so I'll be a second ahead the entire day. (Or is it a second behind?)

Even the ancients understood the idea of a leap day or even month--they couldn't miss how the seasons were coming too soon.  But a leap second is a modern invention as humans get ever better at measuring time in small increments.

As I understand it, due to the slowing rotation of the Earth, a solar day is slightly longer than 24 hours, so these minor adjustments (by human standards--it's a big deal if you wait long enough) need to be made on a regular basis.

So I hope you enjoy your extra second today.  Try to put it to good use.

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