Friday, 19 August 2022
Meet the JournalistsPremiumAucklandWellingtonCanterbury/South Island
CrimePoliticsHealthEducationEnvironment and ClimateNZ Herald FocusData journalismKāhu, Māori ContentPropertyWeather
Small BusinessOpinionPersonal FinanceEconomyBusiness TravelCapital Markets
Politics
Premium SportRugbyCricketRacingNetballBoxingLeagueFootballSuper RugbyAthleticsBasketballMotorsportTennisCyclingGolfAmerican SportsHockeyUFC
NZH Local FocusThe Northern AdvocateThe Northland AgeThe AucklanderWaikato HeraldBay of Plenty TimesHawke's Bay TodayRotorua Daily PostWhanganui ChronicleStratford PressManawatu GuardianKapiti NewsHorowhenua ChronicleTe Awamutu Courier
Covid-19
Te Rito
Te Rito
OneRoof PropertyCommercial Property
Open JusticeVideoPodcastsTechnologyWorldOpinion
SpyTVMoviesBooksMusicCultureSideswipeCompetitions
Fashion & BeautyFood & DrinkRoyalsRelationshipsWellbeingPets & AnimalsVivaCanvasEat WellCompetitionsRestaurants & Menus
New Zealand TravelAustralia TravelInternational Travel
Our Green FutureRuralOneRoof Property
Career AdviceCorporate News
Driven MotoringPhotos
SudokuCodecrackerCrosswordsWordsearchDaily quizzes
Classifieds
KaitaiaWhangareiDargavilleAucklandThamesTaurangaHamiltonWhakataneRotoruaTokoroaTe KuitiTaumarunuiTaupoGisborneNew PlymouthNapierHastingsDannevirkeWhanganuiPalmerston NorthLevinParaparaumuMastertonWellingtonMotuekaNelsonBlenheimWestportReeftonKaikouraGreymouthHokitikaChristchurchAshburtonTimaruWanakaOamaruQueenstownDunedinGoreInvercargill
NZ HeraldThe Northern AdvocateThe Northland AgeThe AucklanderWaikato HeraldBay Of Plenty TimesRotorua Daily PostHawke's Bay TodayWhanganui ChronicleThe Stratford PressManawatu GuardianKapiti NewsHorowhenua ChronicleTe Awamutu CourierVivaEat WellOneRoofDriven MotoringThe CountryPhoto SalesNZ Herald InsightsWatchMeGrabOneiHeart RadioRestaurant Hub

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.
World

Horologists want to steal a second of your time

11 Jan, 2012 04:30 PM2 minutes to read
Photo / Thinkstock

Photo / Thinkstock

Independent

Time will never be the same again if the organisation responsible for setting the world's clocks votes this month in favour of a controversial plan to abolish the "leap" second - the extra second added to the time signal once every few years.

Experts from around the world are scheduled to vote on eradicating the leap second at a meeting in Geneva next week of the International Telecommunications Union, the United Nations agency responsible for timekeeping standards.

Debate about the leap second has raged for years but observers believe this ballot could mark its final demise, although not before another one is added to the midnight signal on June 30 this year.

The leap second was first introduced in 1972, and since then has been used on 24 occasions to keep astronomical time - which is based on the rotation of the Earth - in synchrony with international atomic time, based on the highly regular vibrations of a caesium atom.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Leap seconds were introduced because the rotation of the Earth is slowing down by about two-thousandths of a second per day, which means that without leap seconds atomic time would go an extra second ahead of astronomical time once every 500 days or so.

When necessary, a leap second is added to atomic time to decrease the difference between astronomical time and co-ordinated universal time (UTC).

Many organisations, including Britain's Royal Observatory, have been happy with the leap-second arrangement to keep astronomical time in harmony with atomic time. But other organisations, such as the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Paris, are not.

"There is little support for [the proposal] here in Britain," said Jonathan Betts, senior curator of horology at the Royal Observatory. "We feel that it's important not to lose the link between the measurement of time and the Sun, which has been fundamental to the human timescale ... It would disconnect us from nature."

Those in favour of abolishing the leap second argue that many critical systems, such as the GPS instruments used in aircraft navigation, depend on highly accurate timekeeping which might fail if people forget to update them.

- Independent

Related articles

World

Doomsday clock moves forward one minute

11 Jan 12:52 AM
New Zealand

Daylight saving ends this weekend

30 Mar 06:37 PM

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

World

Indian gang ran fake police station out of hotel for eight months

19 Aug 02:26 AM
World

High-level talks in Ukraine don't break stalemate

19 Aug 01:29 AM
Premium
World

Covid can cause brain disorders two years after infection, study shows

19 Aug 12:51 AM
World

Three charged after murder of notorious crime boss

19 Aug 12:21 AM
World

Climate protesters target the Vatican's Laocoon statue

19 Aug 12:20 AM

Most Popular

Man tried to hire hitman for $300 to kill a person who didn't get along with his wife
New Zealand|CrimeUpdated

Man tried to hire hitman for $300 to kill a person who didn't get along with his wife

19 Aug 03:13 AM
Parole denied: Mark Lundy to remain behind bars 22 years after killing his wife and daughter
New Zealand|CrimeUpdated

Parole denied: Mark Lundy to remain behind bars 22 years after killing his wife and daughter

19 Aug 03:00 AM
Live: 'Red Warning' - Civil Defence says heavy rainfall predicted for Tasman region
New Zealand

Live: 'Red Warning' - Civil Defence says heavy rainfall predicted for Tasman region

19 Aug 01:45 AM

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.
About NZMEHelp & SupportContact UsSubscribe to NZ HeraldHouse Rules
Manage Your Print SubscriptionNZ Herald E-EditionAdvertise with NZMEBook Your AdPrivacy Policy
Terms of UseCompetition Terms & ConditionsSubscriptions Terms & Conditions
© Copyright 2022 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP