Leap Second?

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I got this information from a friend in the seminar of Orissa Physical society, which I am attending. I have edited this a little. Hope mylot friends will find interesting. Well, everyone knows what a leap year is, but many don’t know, ‘what is a leap second, and why it is important’? Some say, if the leap second was abolished, time would be more standard. Others are calling for an end to the leap second. Here is some details. The leap-second was introduced globally 40 years ago, to keep atomic time, this is used by computer systems) and astronomical or solar time (the Earth’s rotation) in sync with each other. Atomic time, which GPS and telecommunications depend on, is so accurate that it gains or losses no more than a second every million years. However, astronomical time alters because of variations in the Earth rotation and can be affected by things like earthquakes. The leap second was needed to keep the two time scales coordinated so atomic time doesn't jump ahead of astronomical time. A leap second has been added at irregular intervals, total of 24 times since its introduction in 1972. Without the leap second keeping time in check, it is predicted that the difference between ‘Atomic time’ and ‘astronomical time’, will increase at a rate of approximately one second per year. Meaning that in 550 years, the difference between atomic time and astronomical time will be about an hour. The ‘Radio telecommunication Assembly’ saw delegates from member states discuss the elimination of the leap second and voting for or against the controversial proposal. A decision to remove the leap second completely would then need to be approved at the ITU-R World Radio communication Conference due to take place next week. The next leap second is expected to be added at midnight on 30 June 2012. Countries like France, Italy, Germany and the USA are calling for an end to the leap second, because telecommunications from GPS systems to mobile phone networks must be manually adjusted by a whole second to keep in sync with the change every year or two. This adaptation of a second, critics argue, leaves systems open to the risk of error. If the leap second was abolished, time would be more standard. The ITU-R, a United Nations agency, said in a statement: The benefits of the change would be a continuous time scale available for all the modern electronic navigation and computerized systems to operate with and eliminate the need for specialized ad hoc time systems. Britain, China and Canada are opposed to the change because without that leap second, Atomic and astronomical time will drift further apart, which would need to be corrected by adding a single leap second, minute or hour at an agreed point in time which would be even more technically challenging and costly. Without leap seconds we will eventually lose the link between our perceptions of time and our own experiences of day and night. A decision on whether to abolish the leap second - the occasional, extra second added to the world's time - has been deferred. Experts at the International Telecommunication Union were unable to reach a consensus, so moved the matter to a meeting in 2015. As a scientist I am in favor of not abolishing the leap second. [b]Hope you find this information useful. Please comment on this and share your opinion. Thanks in advance.[/b] Let’s enjoy life to fullest. Professor ‘*^Bhuwan^*’. . 12/2/2012.