How an accelerating Earth led experts to adopt the leap hour
Summary
International experts voted to replace leap seconds with a leap hour starting next year to simplify timekeeping and reduce problems in computer systems. Leap seconds were added to align clocks with Earth’s rotation, but Earth’s changing spin has made this difficult, causing potential technical issues.Key Facts
- Delegates from 69 countries voted to adopt a leap hour instead of leap seconds.
- Leap seconds add or remove one second to keep clocks aligned with Earth’s rotation.
- Earth’s rotation is not constant and has recently sped up, creating challenges for leap seconds.
- Leap seconds can cause problems for computer systems, telecommunications, and electricity grids.
- The leap hour will allow coordinated universal time (UTC) to drift by up to one hour before correction.
- The change aims to reduce risks to national infrastructure that relies on precise timing.
- Atomic clocks, which are very accurate, define the length of a second based on vibrations in a cesium atom.
- Earth’s rotation has slowed over millions of years but currently varies due to natural forces like the molten core and ocean shifts.
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