Guardians of time

Guardians of time
Like Dali's work, time is not always perfect, despite atomic-second calculations. Image: Wikimedia Commons, global donation to public domain

the new Weigh Made possible by atomic clocks, they made it possible to determine a more stable duration of the second, and thus of time.

the new identification This basic unit of time, adopted in 1967, is “9,192,631,770 oscillations (9.2 billion to simplify) of a cesium atom between different energy levels.” Coincidentally, it takes about 9.2 seconds to say this definition out loud!

Everything is settled and we can sleep peacefully knowing that time is (almost) immutable. forged! The thing is… “Atomic” time has the same problem as old-fashioned GMT, i.e. it's not perfectly in sync with the Earth's rotation.

Therefore, scientists agreed to add the so-called “leap second” to UTC every time the difference exceeds 0.9 seconds. Since 1972, this adjustment has been made for one second 37 times. With new technologies, these adjustments to universal time are created problems Increasingly dangerous techniques.

time
Tempus is on the run, time is running away or time is flying. Stained glass window in St. Peter's Church, Upper Sandusky, Ohio). Image: Wikimedia Commons, Share Alike, 4.0 International

GAFAM is involved

Last year, digital giants, nicknamed GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft), put pressure on timekeepers to stop the practice. The guardians said yes…but by 2035.

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About the Author: Octávio Florencio

"Evangelista zumbi. Pensador. Criador ávido. Fanático pela internet premiado. Fanático incurável pela web."

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