National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Leap Second Added to 2008 -- Tech Glitches to Come?


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NIST-F1, above, is the atomic clock that sets the time for the United States. The clock, one of the world's most accurate, resides in Boulder, Colorado.

Atomic clocks keep the whole world on schedule, and the addition of a "leap second" at the end of 2008 will cause headaches for businesses and organizations that depend on absolute timekeeping precision.

Photograph courtesy of NIST/Jeremy Baer-Simon