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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| This year to be longer by one second |
| 2008-12-27 |
| This year will be longer than usual -- by one second, the U.S. Institute of Standards and Technology said Wednesday. The earth is sufficiently out of sync that a leap second has been scheduled for 7 p.m. U.S. Eastern Standard Time on Dec. 31, said the institute, noting those interested in watching it happen should go to www.time.gov before midnight, London time, and click on their time zone. A total of 24 leap seconds have been added since 1972, the last being in December 2005, because the earth is slowing and does not rotate exactly once every 24 hours, or 86,400 seconds, the Institute said. The discrepancy went unnoticed until highly accurate atomic clocks were developed in the late 1960s. It was decided then, by international agreement, that operators of atomic clocks around the world would adjust the time of day by adding one second to the world's official time when needed. |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #7 ;-) |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-12-27 19:31 |
| #6 I think I'll try and get an extra second of New Years Eve snog. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2008-12-27 16:32 |
| #5 That's nothing compared to how long the next four years are going to be. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2008-12-27 11:10 |
| #4 Actually not so good. Free Escalades and midnight basketball have now been delayed for a second. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-12-27 10:53 |
| #3 We get one more second of Bush. Hip. hip, horray! It will drive the wingnuts into a frenzy. |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2008-12-27 10:49 |
| #2 Whole second! Presents a dilema what to do with that gained time. Maybe I'll take an extra nap!;-) |
| Posted by: Spike Uniter 2008-12-27 04:57 |
| #1 ION TOPIX > SCIENTIST WARNS ABOUT RUNAWAY GLOBAL WARMING. We'll either be living underground, or in LOGAN'S RUN, i.e. a computer-controlled, nuclearized, enviro/popul-controlled, domed = encapsulated/enclosed City(s)??? BIBA, CARNIVALE', BIBA - YEEEHA! |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-12-27 00:32 |