{"id":1281,"date":"2015-06-30T16:32:28","date_gmt":"2015-06-30T22:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/richyrocks.com\/?p=1281"},"modified":"2020-03-10T11:47:27","modified_gmt":"2020-03-10T17:47:27","slug":"leap-second-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/richyrocks.com\/coolenglish\/leap-second-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"leap seconds, other leaps & more"},"content":{"rendered":"

if u are a believer in the gregorian calendar, next year is a leap year<\/strong><\/em>. in order to compensate for the fact that the earth actually takes 365.25 days to go around the sun, february 29, leap day<\/strong><\/em>, is added to the calendar every four years.<\/p>\n

\"february<\/a><\/p>\n

why leap<\/em><\/span> year? \u00a0this year, june 30 is tuesday.<\/p>\n

\"calendar<\/a>\"june<\/p>\n

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if 2016\u00a0were not a leap year, june 30 would be a wednesday. but because of the extra day, june 30 will leap<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(jump) past wednesday and land on thursday.<\/p>\n

\"sheree<\/a><\/h6>\n
actress sheree north leaping<\/span> over a hurdle in life<\/strong> magazine in 1955 (loomis dean, life magazine)<\/em><\/h6>\n

before yesterday, though, i had never heard of the concept of a leap second<\/strong><\/em> which elizabeth zubritsky<\/strong> explains is necessary on nasa.gov<\/strong><\/a> because<\/p>\n

a day lasts 86,400 seconds……..according to the time standard that people use in their daily lives \u2013 coordinated universal time, or utc. [in] utc\u00a0the duration of one second is based on extremely predictable electromagnetic transitions in atoms of cesium. these transitions are so reliable<\/em> that the cesium clock is accurate to one second in 1,400,000 years.<\/h4>\n
\"the<\/a>
also in 1955, the first atomic clock was presented. it was precise because it used cesium. (\u00a9 bettmann\/corbis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

reliable<\/strong><\/em> means dependable<\/em> or credible —\u00a0<\/em>u can count on it.<\/p>\n

fun english practice\u00a0\u00a0\":)\"<\/span><\/span>\u00a0richyrocks english on youtube<\/a><\/h4>\n

according to zubritsky’s\u00a0article, however, the average\u00a0day is in fact 86,400.002<\/span> seconds long. our awareness<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(knowledge,consciousness<\/em>) of this discrepancy comes from scientists who study the earth’s rotation using a technique called very long baseline inerferometry<\/strong> (vlbi).<\/p>\n

vlbi<\/strong> is used to create another time standard called universal time 1<\/strong> (ut1<\/strong>), but<\/p>\n

ut1\u00a0isn\u2019t<\/em> as uniform as <\/em>the cesium clock, so ut1\u00a0and utc\u00a0tend to drift apart<\/em>. leap seconds are added, when needed, to keep the two time standards within 0.9 seconds of each other. the decision to add leap seconds is made by a unit within the international earth rotation and reference systems service<\/strong>.<\/h4>\n

as uniform as<\/strong><\/em> is a comparative structure. isn’t<\/em> indicates that the cesium clock is more<\/span> reliable<\/em> than ut1.\u00a0drift apart<\/strong> <\/em>means separate<\/em> or move away from each other<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"pangea<\/a><\/h6>\n
supposedly, at one time all the continents made one big pangea. later they\u00a0drifted apart\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/h6>\n

maddie stone<\/strong>\u00a0sarcastically observes on gizmodo.in<\/strong><\/p>\n

if\u00a0you’re the sort of person who lives by the motto<\/em> that every second counts, [today] u get to put your money where your mouth is.<\/em><\/h4>\n

motto<\/a><\/strong><\/em>\u00a0is a phrase\u00a0that<\/em> represents the values of a person or organization<\/em>. get to<\/em><\/strong> indicates a privilege <\/em>or\u00a0looking forward to something<\/em>. put your\u00a0money where your mouth is<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0is used to provoke people to do or act rather than<\/a> just talk<\/em>; in other words, if u truly believe that every second counts, u should be able to find a great use for today’s extra second.<\/p>\n

\"put<\/a><\/h6>\n
put your money where your mouth is<\/span>. it’s not literal, dumbass.\u00a0(tvrage.com)<\/em><\/h6>\n

but hold on<\/a> just a (leap) second. everything ain’t cool here. \u00a0stone also comments that<\/p>\n

leap seconds can wreak havoc<\/em> across the internet<\/h4>\n

more specifically, david goldman<\/strong> on\u00a0money.cnn.com<\/strong> warns that in the business world<\/p>\n

the 61-second minute threatens<\/em> to make computer systems go haywire<\/em>, potentially screwing up<\/em> complex trades that can take place in a split second.<\/h4>\n
\"indominus<\/a><\/h6>\n
indominus rex wreaks havoc<\/span> on jurassic world in the eponymous<\/a> movie<\/em><\/h6>\n

goldman reports that as a result….<\/p>\n

some groups have been looking to get rid of<\/em> leap seconds……leap second opponents say the benefits don’t outweigh<\/em> the technological mishaps<\/em> that they cause. even if<\/em> there were<\/em> a leap second every year (there isn’t), the earth would only be<\/em> 16 minutes behind schedule in the year 3015.<\/h4>\n

get rid of<\/strong> <\/em><\/a>means end<\/em> or eliminate<\/em> in this context. outweigh<\/strong> <\/em>is used to show\u00a0that the mishaps<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>(difficulties<\/em>)\u00a0leap seconds create are heavier than the benefits. finally, the if there were<\/strong><\/em> + would be<\/em><\/strong> is a classic example of how to express a hypothetical situation\u00a0(second conditional).<\/p>\n

\"benefits<\/a>
do the benefits of the leap second outweigh<\/span> the risks? (scielo.br)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

were u aware<\/em> of the existence of leap seconds? did the leap second wreak havoc<\/em> on your internet experience today? \u00a0share your experience under leave a reply<\/p>\n

threaten<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0suggests the negative possibility<\/em> of systems going haywire<\/strong><\/em> i.e. malfunctioning<\/em>. \u00a0wreak havoc<\/strong><\/em><\/a> means create serious disorder\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0screw up<\/a><\/strong><\/em> is similar, but probably to a smaller magnitude.<\/p>\n