For reference, a typical 24-hour day runs for 24*60*60 = 86400 seconds, and a typical 365-day year runs for 86400*365 = 31536000 seconds
-
-
Replying to @qntm
The basic problem here is that the planet Earth is a terrible clock
2 replies 16 retweets 38 likes -
Replying to @qntm
It spins too slowly, it spins at irregular rates, it is constantly slowing down, and it can never be wound
6 replies 4 retweets 18 likes -
Replying to @qntm
Vibrating caesium atoms are much more reliable, and that's where we derive atomic time from
2 replies 4 retweets 10 likes -
Replying to @qntm
Unfortunately, for the purposes of civil timekeeping, the rotation of the Earth is all that matters, and nobody cares about caesium atoms
1 reply 11 retweets 26 likes -
Replying to @qntm
UTC is the compromise which gives us atomically accurate civil time while also actually tracking the solar day properly
1 reply 3 retweets 13 likes -
Replying to @qntm
Be honest, you probably don't need to care about leap seconds
1 reply 0 retweets 16 likes -
Replying to @qntm
Anyway, the extra second at the end of 2016 is likely to be one of 2016's better seconds
2 replies 20 retweets 32 likes -
Replying to @qntm
Note: the leap second happens at 23:59:60 UTC, no matter where you are. In the US, that's mid-to-early evening
1 reply 2 retweets 9 likes -
Replying to @qntm
In Australia, the leap second will be something like 10:59:60am on 1 January 2017
1 reply 1 retweet 6 likes
In Bangalore, the leap second is at 5:29:60am. In Kathmandu, it's at 5:44:60am
-
-
Replying to @qntm
Thankfully, there are no time zones which aren't offset from UTC by a whole number of minutes. Anymore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTC%E2%88%9200:25:21 …
3 replies 23 retweets 15 likes -
Replying to @qntm
I literally have no idea what would happen during a leap second on nineteenth century Dublin Mean Time (UTC−00:25:21)
2 replies 7 retweets 14 likes - 1 more reply
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.