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Every now and then a leap second is added to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) in order to synchronize clocks worldwide with the Earth's ever slowing rotation.
Atomic clocks are slightly too accurate.
The reason we have to add a second now and then is that Earth's rotation around its own axis is gradually slowing down, although very slowly.
How Often Are Leap Seconds Added?
Before the first leap second was added in 1972, UTC was 10 seconds behind Atomic Time.
So far, a total of 26 leap seconds have been added.
This means that the Earth has slowed down an additional 26 seconds compared to atomic time since then.
However, this does NOT mean that the days are 26 seconds longer nowadays.
The only difference is that the days a leap second was added had 86,401 seconds instead of the usual 86,400 seconds.
The next leap second will be added on December 31, 2016 at 23:59:60 UTC.
The difference between UTC and International Atomic Time (TAI) will then increase from the current 36 seconds to 37 seconds.
[SOURCE: What's a Leap Second?]
Atomic clocks are slightly too accurate.
The reason we have to add a second now and then is that Earth's rotation around its own axis is gradually slowing down, although very slowly.
How Often Are Leap Seconds Added?
Before the first leap second was added in 1972, UTC was 10 seconds behind Atomic Time.
So far, a total of 26 leap seconds have been added.
This means that the Earth has slowed down an additional 26 seconds compared to atomic time since then.
However, this does NOT mean that the days are 26 seconds longer nowadays.
The only difference is that the days a leap second was added had 86,401 seconds instead of the usual 86,400 seconds.
The next leap second will be added on December 31, 2016 at 23:59:60 UTC.
The difference between UTC and International Atomic Time (TAI) will then increase from the current 36 seconds to 37 seconds.
[SOURCE: What's a Leap Second?]
Posted by PSRG FUN BLOG at 12-31-2016 09:00PT