Chapter 1
The battle of two clocks
Chapter 2
The birth of the leap second
Chapter 3
When a second broke the internet
Chapter 4
Time to say goodbye
YOUR GOAL
Master of The rise and fall of the leap second
Ch 1 · The battle of two clocks
lazlo Two diverging lines show the growing physical gap between two unsynchronized clocks.
sonia The Battle of Two Clocks
No more leap seconds, no more leap seconds, we'll let the planet drift.
sonia Glitching digital readouts display the 23:59:60 leap second alongside a flickering oscilloscope wave.
sonia A glitched digital clock shows 23:59:60 beside a rotating Earth and misaligned gears.
BETA
sonia Tap to insert leap seconds to discover how global clocks match Earth's rotation.
Fun Fact
Cesium clock accuracy: A modern strontium atomic clock is so precise that it would lose less than one second if it ran for 15 billion years.
Quiz
Which organization is responsible for tracking Earth's rotation and deciding on time adjustments?
sonia Earth's irregular rotation challenges the traditional measurement of astronomical time.
Quiz
What element's atomic vibrations are used to define the international standard for a second?
Quiz
Which of these acts as a natural brake on Earth's rotation, slowly lengthening our days?