What would you do with 1 extra second?
Updated | By tanstan fourie
Today, a single second will be added to clocks around the world to help counter Earth’s rotation slowing down.
Called a “leap second,” it has been added approximately every 18 months since 1972 to rectify ‘lost’ time from the slowing rotation, ensuring that the atomic clock is in sync with Earth.
Humans can handle the additional second without even being aware of it, but computers aren’t quite accustomed to the path of time suddenly changing.
A leap second was last added to the clock in 2012, during a weekend, which wreaked havoc online.
It caused dozens of websites to go offline entirely, as well as lots of flight delays in Australia.
When the leap second comes around it will be seen as 60 in the second’s sections of system clocks.
Leap seconds might not be around for much longer with the International Telecommunications Union planning to vote on a proposal to eliminate the leap second in November 2015.
Darren, Natarah and Sky have taken advantage of the extra second and made their own 1 second films.
Check out what they decided to do with their one extra second:
#1SecondVid 1st line of a great book. pic.twitter.com/8kYOJJgesh
— Darren Maule (@darrenmaule) June 30, 2015
#1secondvid @ECRBreakfast @darrenmaule @NatarahNadesan pic.twitter.com/IuxYcXjAbc
— #RIPJERRYCOLLINS (@SkyTshabalala) June 30, 2015
It's a 'velfie' with my Evey! A video selfie😜 #1SecondVid @ECRBreakfast pic.twitter.com/M2SHiykcmq
— Natarah Nadesan (@NatarahNadesan) June 30, 2015
Share your 1 second video with us via Twitter @ECRBreakfast
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