"Atomic clock scientists suggest shortening minute to 59 seconds"
This is so bad it's funny. [1] A newspaper headline that's inaccurate by
a factor of, just, 100 million.
Why? If time had 59 minutes per hour instead of 60 the clock rate would
be off by 0.983 And if we had a leap second (positive or negative,
doesn't matter), say every 3 years, the clock rate would be off by
1.06e-8. The ratio of those two is 9.3e7, about 100 million.
From a pedagogical perspective, it's a nice way to demonstrate just how
tiny a leap second adjustment really is.
By the way, a number of news web sites have been carrying "earth is
speeding up" and "50 years" stories the past week or so. I've read a
number of them. Ouch. Does anyone know who started it? Is there a way to
track it down?
It hope it wasn't LEAPSECS; we have had an influx of members in recent
months. Fortunately the mailing list has remained very technical, and
pragmatic about the issue.
Thanks,
/tvb
[1]
https://nypost.com/2021/01/05/atomic-clock-scientists-suggest-subtracting-a-second-from-minute/
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