The world spinning around the Sun or shift workers who switch between days and nights, our time is determined by a variety of spinning events. Some of these events occur every day while others are less predictable and more unpredictable.
For instance, most people are aware that the Earth revolves around the Sun each day for 24 hours. But what isn’t as well-known is the speed at which the Earth rotates can vary which can make the day appear to be shorter or longer than you would expect. This is the reason that atomic clocks that maintain standardized time must be regularly adjusted by adding or subtracting seconds. This is known as a leap second.
Precession is a normal rotational event. It is a cyclical wobble in the Earth’s axis, which is similar to the spinning top of a toy that is slightly off-center. This axial shift with respect to fixed stars (inertial spaces) has a duration of 25,771.5. It is responsible for many weather patterns, such as the alternating direction between cyclones in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Scientists have also noticed that the speed of Earth rotation slows over time, causing the solar day to become longer. This is why, on June 29 the world added the leap second to atomic clocks, so that they could better align with the real-world earth’s rotation. While the addition of one second may seem small but it has significant implications for businesses that rely on the changing of schedules. For multinational companies with a global workforce managing the changing schedules of calls by fumbling with spreadsheets or static wiki pages can be costly in terms of revenue and reputation. This is why more organizations are turning to on-call rotation software to minimize interruptions in service and ensure that transfer coverage is covered and give employees a better understanding of the process.
