Round Sardinia Race

Rotating Events in Our Time

Whether it’s the world rotating around the Sun or shift workers shifting between night and day our lives are shaped by many spinning events. Certain of these events occur every day while others are less predictable and more irregular.

The majority of people are aware that the Earth revolves all day long around the Sun. But what isn’t as why not try this out well-known is the speed at which Earth rotates is variable, making the day appear to be shorter or longer than you would expect. The Atomic clocks, that maintain an established time, have to be adjusted regularly by adding or subtracting a second. This change is called leap seconds.

One of the most regular occurring events in the world of rotation is precession which is the cyclical wobble that occurs on the Earth’s axis of motion, much like a spinny, slightly off-center spinning toy top. This axial shift with respect to fixed stars (inertial space) has a duration of 25,771.5 years, and it is the cause of various weather patterns, such as the rotating direction of cyclones within the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Scientists have also noticed that the speed of Earth rotation slows with time, leading solar day to become longer. On June 29, the world added an extra leap second to the atomic clocks to better align them with the axis of the Earth. Although the addition of a second may seem insignificant but it can have significant implications for businesses that rely on changing schedules. For multinational companies with a global staff, managing changing call schedules using spreadsheets or static wiki pages can be costly in terms of reputation and revenue. This is why more companies are switching to on-call software to reduce service interruptions, manage transfer coverage, and offer transparency to employees.