Saturday
night will be just a little longer than usual, as a “leap second” will
be added to the clock. That adjustment comes around every once in a
while to keep our clocks on track with the sun.
A leap second has been scheduled for June 30, 2012. A
leap second is an adjustment to the atomic clock-based Coordinated
Universal Time (UTC) to bring it more closely in line with Universal
Time (UT), which is based on the rotation of the earth. The two time
standards do not agree because the earth’s rotation is ever so gradually
and unpredictably slowing down.
I don’t know about you, but “unpredictably slowing down” doesn’t
sound all that reassuring. But no far, I don’t see any scientists and
chronologists panicking.
Saturday
night will be just a little longer than usual, as a “leap second” will
be added to the clock. That adjustment comes around every once in a
while to keep our clocks on track with the sun.
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