Time Lords kill leap seconds, before they become the new Y2K bug
Cite difficulty of updating IoT devices as major reason to stop adding time..
Cite difficulty of updating IoT devices as major reason to stop adding time.
The short version
- As The Register reported last week, the CGPM works to harmonize Universal Time – UT1, which boffins calculate using the changing speed of Earth’s rotation – and the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) standard that humans use to set time.
- We big-brained hominids can set standards but can’t do much about the fact that the speed of Earth’s rotation is variable.
- When our planet’s spin slows, the CGPM adds leap seconds so that UT1 and UTC are in synch.
What happened
In recent years, they have even pondered a negative leap second because Earth’s rotation has sped up a little. Like all good standards orgs, the CGPM conducts years-long debates about its work.
Why it matters
The topic of leap seconds has very much been on the agenda in recent years, as they’re increasingly hard to implement now that humanity relies on billions of devices that can usefully share the same timing data but may not easily account for leap seconds.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at The Register — Networks via the links above and below.