• xthexder@l.sw0.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      4 months ago

      Standard seconds are defined based on measurable properties of a cesium atom. The historical definition of 1/86400th of a day doesn’t work for science if the duration is inconsistent.

      For example the statement:

      Earth’s Days Are Getting 2 seconds Longer Every 100,000 Years

      becomes self-referencing and loses all meaning without some other reference point.

    • Todd Bonzalez@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      4 months ago

      This is time relative to earth, and the actual passage of time in the universe that we aim to measure doesn’t care about the Earth’s rotation.