This recent geological event can crash the entire Internet system
Since our school days we know that a day on the earth is of exactly 24 hours as the earth complete 1 rotation on its axis in this time-frame.
Recently in a rare multiple occurrence, the earth completed its rotation in less than 24 hours, that means in such events the earth is spinning faster.
On June 29, 2022, Earth’s spin on its axis was completed in 1.59 milliseconds under 24 hours. The same was 1.5 milliseconds on July 26
The watches on the earth are designed considering the earth’s rotation as 24 hours, to keep both of them in sync we need to settle this extra second to the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
This settlement is known as Leap Second. It can be positive (1 second added to the schedule) or negative (1 second omitted).
Leap seconds cause a great problem for IT systems and the Internet, specifically the applications and services that require time synchronization with other systems in order to run smoothly.
In 2012, due to this leap second issue, major online presences including Reddit, Mozzila, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, and many other platforms, crashed.
Tech giants including Meta (Facebook), Google, Amazon, and Microsoft want to get rid off the Leap Second.
These big institutions believe that Leap Second is more trouble than they’re worth.
Swipe Up to know more about the Leap Second, and its effects...