rockin'robin
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Experts fear added time could cause computer chaos
On June 30, at 23:59:59 GMT, the world's clocks will add an extra second
This is to account for discrepancy between 'Earth' time and 'atomic' time
But experts warn it could wreak havoc to systems powering the internet
It may cause some systems to crash while others will be half a second off
On June 30 at 23:59:59 GM, the world's clocks will add an extra second to the day - bringing the total number of seconds for 2015 up to 31,536,001.
Scientists say adding this 'leap second' is crucial to compensate for the slowing of the Earth's rotation.
But according to some computer experts, the added time could wreak havoc to systems powering the internet.
The extra second is needed because the Earth's rotation is gradually slowing down by around two-thousandths of a second per day, and it needs to catch up with atomic time.
Atomic time uses vibrations within atoms to measure time and is said to be the most reliable because atoms resonate at extremely consistent frequencies.
WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO COMPUTER SYSTEMS ON JUNE 30?
On June 30, not everyone will add the leap second in the same way or at the same time.
In some systems, the computer clock shows 60 seconds instead of rolling over to the next minute, or showing the 59th second twice.
As a result the computer sees a leap second as time going backward, causing a system error and the CPU to overload.
For computers that don't crash, processes based on precise timing, such as the amount of time a valve opens to add a chemical to a mix, may be off by half a second.
But it remains to be seen whether this will create large-scale problems, as some computer scientists have predicted.
.
So leap seconds are occasionally used to help 'Earth time' catch up to 'atomic time' as the former is slower by about two thousands of a second per day.
To keep them in sync, it is necessary to occasionally jump Earth's time back - for mathematical reasons similar to adding leap years.
The decision to do so is made every time Earth time is slower by about half a second, making it about half a second quicker instead.
'At the time of the dinosaurs, Earth completed one rotation in about 23 hours,' says Daniel MacMillan of Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center.
'In the year 1820, a rotation took exactly 24 hours, or 86,400 standard seconds. Since 1820, the mean solar day has increased by about 2.5 milliseconds.'
This year will be the 26th time since 1972 that a leap second will have been added.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...-warn-break-internet.html?ito=social-facebook
On June 30, at 23:59:59 GMT, the world's clocks will add an extra second
This is to account for discrepancy between 'Earth' time and 'atomic' time
But experts warn it could wreak havoc to systems powering the internet
It may cause some systems to crash while others will be half a second off
On June 30 at 23:59:59 GM, the world's clocks will add an extra second to the day - bringing the total number of seconds for 2015 up to 31,536,001.
Scientists say adding this 'leap second' is crucial to compensate for the slowing of the Earth's rotation.
But according to some computer experts, the added time could wreak havoc to systems powering the internet.
The extra second is needed because the Earth's rotation is gradually slowing down by around two-thousandths of a second per day, and it needs to catch up with atomic time.
Atomic time uses vibrations within atoms to measure time and is said to be the most reliable because atoms resonate at extremely consistent frequencies.
WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO COMPUTER SYSTEMS ON JUNE 30?
On June 30, not everyone will add the leap second in the same way or at the same time.
In some systems, the computer clock shows 60 seconds instead of rolling over to the next minute, or showing the 59th second twice.
As a result the computer sees a leap second as time going backward, causing a system error and the CPU to overload.
For computers that don't crash, processes based on precise timing, such as the amount of time a valve opens to add a chemical to a mix, may be off by half a second.
But it remains to be seen whether this will create large-scale problems, as some computer scientists have predicted.
.
So leap seconds are occasionally used to help 'Earth time' catch up to 'atomic time' as the former is slower by about two thousands of a second per day.
To keep them in sync, it is necessary to occasionally jump Earth's time back - for mathematical reasons similar to adding leap years.
The decision to do so is made every time Earth time is slower by about half a second, making it about half a second quicker instead.
'At the time of the dinosaurs, Earth completed one rotation in about 23 hours,' says Daniel MacMillan of Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center.
'In the year 1820, a rotation took exactly 24 hours, or 86,400 standard seconds. Since 1820, the mean solar day has increased by about 2.5 milliseconds.'
This year will be the 26th time since 1972 that a leap second will have been added.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...-warn-break-internet.html?ito=social-facebook
