A massive storm struck Colorado last week, disrupting more than a dozen atomic clocks and altering the US official time standard. Now the country is running &nbsp;4.8 microseconds behind the world. These atomic clocks are located at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder. Hurricane-force winds swept the state recently, hitting trees and electricity infrastructure. This posed a risk of fire, and so the state's largest energy company implemented safety shutdowns. But the atomic clocks continued ticking, thanks to the battery backup systems. However, a backup generator at NIST failed, causing a snap in operations and slowing down NIST coordinated universal time, or UTC (NIST), by 4.8 microseconds. Notably, NIST coordinated universal time, or UTC(NIST), determines the official time in the US. It is different from the other UTC used for the global time standard.<h2>The minor time error can have huge implications</h2>NIST supervisory research physicist Jeff Sherman described the time gap as "both big and small." He told Joe Hernandez at NPR, “All of the atomic clocks, a mix of hydrogen masers and caesium beam, continued ticking through the power outage last week, thanks to their battery backup systems. What failed was the connection between some of the clocks and NIST's measurement and distribution systems." This meant that the Boulder Internet Time Services no longer had an accurate time reference. A time difference of 4.8 microseconds might not seem much, but Sherman cautioned that it can affect crucial systems, such as infrastructure, telecommunications, GPS signals, and other things.<h2>How is American time determined?</h2>NIST has been America's official timekeeper since 2007. Of the 20 atomic clocks at the NIST laboratory that operate in rotation, 10 to 15 are working at any time to determine the US national time. Primary and alternate multi-channel measurement systems (MCMS) regularly monitor these clocks to quickly detect any changes in frequency. This data is fed into a computer algorithm, which, in addition to other machines, decides the exact US time. This figure works towards the world's time standards as well. Power has been restored at the facility, and assessments and repair work are being done.

American time dragged behind the rest of the world following a massive storm in Boulder, Colorado, last week. The atomic clocks housed at the facility of the countrys official timekeeper went behind because of a snag in the battery backup.

A massive storm struck Colorado last week, disrupting more than a dozen atomic clocks and altering the US official time standard. Now the country is running 4.8 microseconds behind the world. These atomic clocks are located at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder. Hurricane-force winds swept the state recently, hitting trees and electricity infrastructure. This posed a risk of fire, and so the state's largest energy company implemented safety shutdowns. But the atomic clocks continued ticking, thanks to the battery backup systems. However, a backup generator at NIST failed, causing a snap in operations and slowing down NIST coordinated universal time, or UTC (NIST), by 4.8 microseconds. Notably, NIST coordinated universal time, or UTC(NIST), determines the official time in the US. It is different from the other UTC used for the global time standard. The minor time error can have huge implications NIST supervisory research physicist Jeff Sherman described the time gap as "both big and small." He told Joe Hernandez at NPR, “All of the atomic clocks, a mix of hydrogen masers and caesium beam, continued ticking through the power outage last week, thanks to their battery backup systems. What failed was the connection between some of the clocks and NIST's measurement and distribution systems." This meant that the Boulder Internet Time Services no longer had an accurate time reference. A time difference of 4.8 microseconds might not seem much, but Sherman cautioned that it can affect crucial systems, such as infrastructure, telecommunications, GPS signals, and other things. How is American time determined? NIST has been America's official timekeeper since 2007. Of the 20 atomic clocks at the NIST laboratory that operate in rotation, 10 to 15 are working at any time to determine the US national time. Primary and alternate multi-channel measurement systems (MCMS) regularly monitor these clocks to quickly detect any changes in frequency. This data is fed into a computer algorithm, which, in addition to other machines, decides the exact US time. This figure works towards the world's time standards as well. Power has been restored at the facility, and assessments and repair work are being done.

American time dragged behind the rest of the world following a massive storm in Boulder, Colorado, last week. The atomic clocks housed at the facility of the country's official timekeeper went behind because of a snag in the battery backup.

American time lagged behind the rest of the world by 4.8 microseconds. Here is what happened

It is well known that Earth takes approximately 24 hours to rotate on its axis. But this established fact is seeing some major seismic changes. According to scientists, on July 29, Earth completed a full spin in about 1.59 milliseconds shorter than its standard timeframe ( 23 hours and 56 minutes). Notably, this is not the first time that the blue planet has spun faster. Atomic clocks have, however, recently revealed that the Earth's rotation is rapidly accelerating.

In 2020, Earth recorded its shortest month and July 19 was recorded to be the shortest day of that year. It was 1.47 milliseconds under 24 hours.

The following year, Earth continued to rotate at a generally increased pace, but it did not break any records.

On June 29, 2022, Earth made its fastest-ever rotation, and on July 26, 2022, there was a day that lasted 1.50 milliseconds less.

There are reports that the planet may continue to witness such shorter days in the upcoming years. According to Interesting Engineering (IE) news outlet, a 50-year phase of shorter days may be starting right now for Earth.

Why is Earth rotating fast?

There are no conclusive proofs at the moment to decipher why Earth has been spinning fast. But there are some leading theories that are doing the rounds.

<ul>
	<li>Some claim that poles’ weight has seen a drop due to the melting of glaciers</li>
	<li>Others note that the molten core of our&nbsp;planet's interior is moving over time.</li>
	<li>While some believe that seismic activity could be the reason</li>
	<li>Others believe it is because of "Chandler wobble”, which is a small deviation in the Earth's geographic poles across its surface</li>
</ul>

What are the consequences?

According to reports, Earth’s fastening rotation could have major consequences on atomic clocks, which are used in GPS satellites. It won’t take into account the Earth’s changing rotation.

This means that GPS satellites—which already have to be corrected for the effect of Einstein's Theory of Relativity&nbsp;— will quickly become useless.

Apart from that, smartphones, computers, and other communications systems will render useless as they are&nbsp;synchronised with Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers.

Since the clock progresses from 23:59:59 to 23:59:60 before resetting to 00:00:00, a time jump like this can crash programmes and corrupt data.

(With inputs from agencies)

It is well known that Earth takes approximately 24 hours to rotate on its axis. But this established fact is seeing some major seismic changes. According to scientists, on July 29, Earth completed a full spin in about 1.

It is well known that Earth takes approximately 24 hours to rotate on its axis. But this established fact is seeing some major seismic changes. According to scientists, on July 29, Earth completed a full spin in about 1.59 milliseconds shorter than its standard timeframe ( 23 hours and 56 minutes). Notably, this is not the first time that the blue planet has spun faster. Atomic clocks have, however, recently revealed that the Earth's rotation is rapidly accelerating. In 2020, Earth recorded its shortest month and July 19 was recorded to be the shortest day of that year. It was 1.47 milliseconds under 24 hours. The following year, Earth continued to rotate at a generally increased pace, but it did not break any records. On June 29, 2022, Earth made its fastest-ever rotation, and on July 26, 2022, there was a day that lasted 1.50 milliseconds less. There are reports that the planet may continue to witness such shorter days in the upcoming years. According to Interesting Engineering (IE) news outlet, a 50-year phase of shorter days may be starting right now for Earth. Why is Earth rotating fast? There are no conclusive proofs at the moment to decipher why Earth has been spinning fast. But there are some leading theories that are doing the rounds. Some claim that poles’ weight has seen a drop due to the melting of glaciers Others note that the molten core of our planet's interior is moving over time. While some believe that seismic activity could be the reason Others believe it is because of "Chandler wobble”, which is a small deviation in the Earth's geographic poles across its surface What are the consequences? According to reports, Earth’s fastening rotation could have major consequences on atomic clocks, which are used in GPS satellites. It won’t take into account the Earth’s changing rotation. This means that GPS satellites—which already have to be corrected for the effect of Einstein's Theory of Relativity — will quickly become useless. Apart from that, smartphones, computers, and other communications systems will render useless as they are synchronised with Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers. Since the clock progresses from 23:59:59 to 23:59:60 before resetting to 00:00:00, a time jump like this can crash programmes and corrupt data. (With inputs from agencies)

Earth is suddenly spinning faster than usual, and it can spell doom for us

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