What will you do with your extra second of time?

You will get an extra second of time back this January 1. Why? As you may know, scientifically and practically speaking, time is calculated based on where the sun is at 12:00 in your designated time-zone. This means that our calculation of time is based on the rotation of the Earth relative to the sun, and other astronomical bodies. What you may not know is that the Earth's rotation is slowing ever so slightly. So much that our clocks need to be adjusted periodically, so that when the clock shows 12:00PM, the sun is directly overhead in the timezone. If we never calibrated our clocks to compensate for the slowing of the Earth's rotation, over decades, the effect would become noticeable as the sun rose in the afternoon, and set in the mornings.

This year in January is a "leap-second" year. Scientists will add an extra second to the world's master clocks located in Greenwich, England. The second my seem (eh-hem) minute to you and I, but astronomers and other scientists, telecommunications systems, satellites, guidance systems, and other infrastructure depend on atomic-accurate time synchronization.

Here's an interesting article from the BBC about a contingent of US scientist and their efforts to break the tie of time to solar position. The scientific community is up in arms about the proposal:

Among those upset by the idea is Daniel Gambis who works for the intriguingly named Earth Rotation Service. His job is to decide when to add a leap second. He points out that over time, the Earth would gradually get out of synch with the Sun.

"For me, it would be a problem if the Sun were to rise at 4pm or at a different time like noon or midnight.

"I don't support the idea of the American delegation because I think all our human activities are linked to the rotation of the Earth first.

Leap second proposal sparks row