Shortest Holiday Ever

3...2...1...Happy Leap Second!  Oh wait, there it goes

I didn't even have time to put on my party hat.

Well, today's Sametime Status is kinda two-fold.  In one sense, I find it amusing to celebrate Leap Second, because...well...it lasts a second.  On the other hand, I'm also serving to inform everybody that some scientists believe that Leap Second may no longer be necessary, so the entire concept may be going away.  

Here's the deal.  The most accurate clocks known are atomic clocks, which use the electronic transition frequency of a substance (typically Cesium) to measure the passage of time.  Since the frequency is remarkably consistent, a shade under 9.2 billion radiation cycles is one second, and that is the international standard.  The problem is that the earth has certain natural clocks...being the rotation of the earth and the orbit around the sun...that more fundamentally dictate larger time intervals.  As such, we often have to add little compensation factors to out atomic clocks to re-synch them with Mother Nature.  This is most noticeable every 4th February when we have to add a day to account for the fact that it takes 365.25 day to orbit the sun, rather than a simple 365.  There's also the rotation which causes us to add one second to clocks every so often.  Since 1972, there have been 25 such instances, so realistically, you're that much older. 

The important thing to note here is that in the last couple decades, the earth has started spinning faster, so the addition of this second may no longer be required.  Important sciency-type people are looking into it.  I'm sure they'll keep us posted.  That said, the next Leap Second is scheduled for June 30.  I hope there will be a party.