Scientists believe there are 24 hours a day left because the Earth is spinning faster than any other time in the past 50 years.
July 19, 2020 is recorded as the shortest day since scientists began collecting data on the speed of Earth’s rotation since the 1960s.
Therefore, the date of July 19 is 14602 milliseconds shorter than the usual 24 hours.
However, the International Earth Rotation and Reference System (IERS) announced in July 2020 that no “leap second” had been added to official world time in December 2020.
“Second leap” refers to the adjustment of time, similar to a leap year. IERS has had to add 27 “leap seconds” to atomic clocks since the 1970s. The last leap seconds were added on December 31, 2016. During this time, clocks around the world must pause for one second for rotation. of the Earth is catching up.
Since leap seconds are usually added on the last day of June or December, scientists predict that there is a possibility that another leap second will be added on June 20, 2021. During this time, the clock should stop one second for the Earth’s rotation to catch up.
A 2015 study indicates that a change in the Earth’s rotation could be a phenomenon of global warming. As a result, the melting glaciers in part cause our planet to rotate more rapidly on its axis.
As the Earth accelerates, we’ll probably have to use up to “negative leap seconds,” which means subtracting a second instead of adding like never before. Scientists are wondering whether to remove such a second to synchronize elapsed time with the rotation of the Earth.
Although the time difference is only noticed at the atomic level, experts believe the effect could be very significant. Time synchronization allows satellites and other communications devices to work in sync.
