Time really is flying by

[MichaelB]

Here’s another reason we all may live longer and need to stretch out our retirement savings - the days are getting shorter.

The Earth is spinning faster, and recently recorded its shortest day ever, scientists say. June 29, 2022 was 1.59 millisecond less than the average day, scientist Leonid Zotov told CBS News.

Link and more details here

I wonder how this will affect our safe withdrawal rates. Certainly something we need to analyze and discuss,

 

[MC Rider]

No negative leap seconds!

 

[aja8888]

Wait a minute.....from the link:

He says not every day is shorter, but if the trend continues, atomic time – the universal way time is measured on Earth – may have to change.

What? Different length days?


OH NO!

This will definitely screw up my dog's daily routine.

 

[Ronstar]

But wait - now the earth is slowing down?

Atomic clocks, combined with precise astronomical measurements, have revealed that the length of a day is suddenly getting longer, and scientists don’t know why.

This has critical impacts not just on our timekeeping, but also things like GPS and other technologies that govern our modern life.

Over the past few decades, Earth’s rotation around its axis – which determines how long a day is – has been speeding up. This trend has been making our days shorter; in fact, in June 2022 we set a record for the shortest day over the past half a century or so.

But despite this record, since 2020 that steady speedup has curiously switched to a slowdown – days are getting longer again, and the reason is so far a mystery.

https://theconversation.com/the-length-of-earths-days-has-been-mysteriously-increasing-and-scientists-dont-know-why-188147

 

[aja8888]

Hey, faster, slower....which is it?

 

[Ronstar]

Both I guess

 

[aja8888]

Both I guess

Well, that settles it!

 

[MC Rider]

All the excavation and putting up skyscrapers is messing up the rotation,
like a skater pulling their arms in, or extending them as they spin.

 

[aja8888]

All the excavation and putting up skyscrapers is messing up the rotation,
like a skater pulling their arms in, or extending them as they spin.

I will postulate that all the big batteries in the electric cars, as they are driving around, are screwing up the earth's magnetic poles and causing "spin hesitation". I could be right you know.

 

[razztazz]

originally posted by ronstar

both i guess

well, that settles it!

Science!

 

[jollystomper]

And DW and I were just talking about how long the month of July seemed (not complaining about it). Silly us...

 

[EastWest Gal]

DH and I debated weather or not that meant we were getting older faster.

 

[Car-Guy]

Explains why I have been getting dizzy.

 

[Lucie]

I disagree. I am retiring in 8 weeks. Time is going sooo painfully slow. It seems like the longest 2 months of my life

 

[djsander]

I disagree. I am retiring in 8 weeks. Time is going sooo painfully slow. It seems like the longest 2 months of my life

Yeah, I remember those slow final weeks. Next thing you know a year will have passed since that last day and wow it flew by. What always went quickly was vacation. We would get there and the next thing I knew we were headed back home. Strange how time moves relative to our experiences.