NEW DELHI(PTI): Scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) here will put back their atomic clocks by one second at midnight on June 30 to counter the slowdown of the earth.
The introduction of this “leap second” has been necessitated by the gradual slowing down of the earth under various celestial, tidal and frictional forces, NPL scientists said today.
The leap second keeps the universal time used around the world in tune with astronomical time scale which changes slightly due to variations in the earth’s rotation.
Leap second corrections are essential for day to day working, otherwise the astronomical time will gradually drift away from our wristwatch time which is set by the international atomic time,
The NPL is India’s “time keeper,” a custodian of national standards of physical measurements under an international agreement. NPL scientists last introduced a leap second in June 1992.
Article extracted from this publication >>July 2, 1993
