Zeitmessung: Aus der Schaltsekunde für Uhren beschlossen
Die Schaltsekunde hat präzise Atomuhren mit der unregelmäßigen Erdrotation in Einklang gehalten. Für Computersysteme aber war sie eine Herausforderung. Was heißt es, dass sie bald Geschichte ist?
The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) in Paris has decided to discontinue the practice of inserting leap seconds to keep our clocks in sync with astronomical time. Since 1972, leap seconds have been added 27 times to maintain the difference between Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and Universal Time (UT1) at a maximum of 0.9 seconds.
The CGPM now allows UTC to deviate from UT1 by up to 3,600 seconds, or one full hour. This change aims to provide greater stability for modern technologies, as atomic clocks deliver constant time but UT1 can vary slightly due to the Earth's rotation, influenced by tidal forces from the moon and sun. The introduction of a negative leap second is a possibility for the first time, as the Earth's rotation has been accelerating in recent years.
Although the impact on everyday life would likely be negligible, the CGPM recognized that this decision could pose technical challenges and additional costs for industries relying on constant time, such as energy supply, telecommunications, and transportation.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
