Leap second: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:50, 18 July 2024

Revision as of 21:32, 18 July 2024

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The TAI and UT1 time scales are precisely defined, the former by atomic clocks (and thus independent of Earth's rotation) and the latter by astronomical observations (that measure actual planetary rotation and thus the solar time at the Greenwich meridian). UTC (on which [[civil time]] is usually based) is a compromise, stepping with atomic seconds but periodically reset by a leap second to match UT1.

The irregularity and unpredictability of UTC leap seconds is problematic for several areas, especially [[computing]] (see [[#Issues created by insertion (or removal) of leap seconds|below]]). With increasing requirements for [[timestamp]] accuracy in systems such as process automation and [[high-speedfrequency financial transactionstrading]],<ref>{{Cite news| title = Time Split to the Nanosecond Is Precisely What Wall Street Wants |newspaper =[[The New York Times]]| access-date = 13 December 2022| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/29/technology/computer-networks-speed-nasdaq.html |date = 29 June 2018}}</ref> this raises a number of issues. Consequently, the long-standing practice of inserting leap seconds is under review by the relevant international standards body.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dwyer |first=Colin |date=29 December 2016 |title=With A Leap Second, 2016 Promises To Linger Just A Little Bit Longer |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/29/507422729/with-a-leap-second-2016-promises-to-linger-just-a-little-bit-longer |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102214327/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/29/507422729/with-a-leap-second-2016-promises-to-linger-just-a-little-bit-longer |archive-date=2 January 2023 |access-date=24 February 2023 |website=[[NPR]]}}</ref>

===International proposals for elimination of leap seconds===