Something is making the Earth spin faster and days shorter
has felt more nebulous than ever. You'd be forgiven for thinking that days are passing by at an increasingly faster clip. According to scientists, that perspective is not wrong. On June 29th, midnight arrived 1.59 milliseconds sooner than expected. It was the shortest day in over half a century, at least since scientists started tracking the pace of the Earth's rotation withThat wasn't a one-off occurrence either.
Scientists believe there are a number of factors that may impact the Earth's rotation, including earthquakes, stronger winds, icecaps melting and refreezing, the moon and the climate. Some have suggested the so-called"Chandler wobble" may have an effect on the rotation too.
, which have caused outages at Reddit and Cloudflare over the last decade. A negative leap second could lead to even more chaos. "With the Earth’s rotation pattern changing, it’s very likely that we will get a negative leap second at some point in the future," Meta engineers Oleg Obleukhov and Ahmad Byagowi."The impact of a negative leap second has never been tested on a large scale; it could have a devastating effect on the software relying on timers or schedulers."
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
Huge, potentially disruptive sunspot will swing round to face Earth this weekendIt could disrupt satellites, cause power outages and lead to problems for airplane navigation systems.
Leer más »
Scientists discovered a Super-Earth that could have key ingredients for lifeScientists have discovered a super-Earth that orbits a red dwarf star, raising questions about the possibility of life near low-mass stars.
Leer más »
Is Earth getting closer to the sun, or farther away?And will this change in distance affect our planet's climate?
Leer más »
Nuclear fusion powers stars. Could it one day electrify Earth?The elusive power source can’t save us from the need to cut emissions now. But a $20-billion reactor approaching completion in southern France could pave the way for the future.
Leer más »
Google made one of its best search shortcuts even more useful | EngadgetGoogle searches with quotes now show you exactly where to find the words you're looking for on a given page..
Leer más »