Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The earth is spinning faster than its usual speed. Recently, on July 29, the Earth broke its record for the shortest day when it completed a full revolution in less than the standard 24-hour rotation. The scientists noted that the planet’s complete rotation was 1.59 milliseconds shorter than 24 hours. However, this is not the only time he has picked up the pace.
According to reports, in 2020 the planet experienced the shortest month ever recorded since the 1960s. The shortest day ever in 2020 was July 19, when the planet’s rotation was 1.47 milliseconds per 24 hours.
The next year, the planet continued to spin at a generally increased rate, but did not break any records. However, according to Interesting Engineering (IE), a 50-year phase of shorter days may be starting right now.
Why does the earth spin faster?
The reason for the difference in Earth’s rotation speed is still unknown, but some scientists have come up with theories that suggest it could be due to the melting of glaciers, which means less weight at the poles, or it could be due to the movements of our planet’s interior. molten core. Many scientists also suggest that it may be caused by seismic activity or the “Chandler wobble”, a small deviation in the Earth’s axis of rotation.
What will be the consequences of the Earth spinning faster?
According to a report in the Independent, if the Earth continues to spin at an increasing rate, it could lead to the introduction of negative leap seconds to keep the speed at which the Earth orbits the Sun in line with atomic clock measurements.
However, a negative leap second would have potentially confusing implications for gadgets and communication systems. This is because the clock advances from 23:59:59 to 23:59:60 before resetting to 00:00:00. Notably, a time jump like this can cause programs to crash and data to become corrupted.
