The Earth is spinning faster than usual and the days are shorter now. At least this is the observation made by the scientists of National Physical Laboratory du Royaume-Uni. The data collected was compared with that of 50 years ago. According to data recorded on June 29, a complete rotation of the Earth lasted 1.59 milliseconds in 24 hours. Some scientists already think it necessary to review the number of seconds in our atomic clocks.

“If Earth’s rapid rotation continues, it could lead to the introduction of the first negative leap second”Astronomer said Graham Jones to the platform TimeandDate.com. “This is necessary to keep civil time, which is based on the super-regular rhythm of atomic clocks – synchronized with solar time, which is based on the movement of the sun across the sky. »He continued.

Consequences?

Still according to the scientist, this change in the clock will not continue without consequences. This can have consequences on computer systems. “The impact of a negative leap second has never been tested on a large scale; This can have a devastating effect on software that relies on timers or schedulers”The researchers noted. Oleg Oblukhov etc Ahmed Baigovi In a blog post.