GoKawiilGlobal Timekeepers Vote to Scrap the Leap Second
International timekeeping bodies have voted to abolish the leap second, the practice of periodically adjusting Coordinated Universal Time to match Earth's rotation. Instead, UTC will now be allowed to drift up to an hour from Earth's actual spin before any correction, likely via a future 'leap hour,' becomes necessary. Officials say such a correction probably won't be needed for centuries.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The decision resolves a three-decade dispute driven largely by tech companies like Google and Meta, which found leap seconds disruptive to computer systems and had resorted to workaround techniques such as 'smearing' time adjustments. It also sidesteps the looming threat of an unprecedented negative leap second, caused by Earth's recent spin acceleration, which experts worried untested software might not handle safely. The vote effectively defers a thorny technical problem to future generations rather than solving it outright.
- The leap second will be phased out, letting UTC and Earth's rotation diverge by up to an hour before correction.
- Tech firms like Google and Meta had lobbied against leap seconds due to the disruptions they caused to computer systems.
- The change also avoids a potential first-ever negative leap second, which experts feared untested software might mishandle.
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See La Crosse Technology Atomic Wall Clock on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: science.slashdot.org, 2026-10-16
Published there as: “World's Timekeepers Vote to Eliminate the Leap Second”
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