Unix Time and a Modest Proposal
2024-12-27
This article delves into the discrepancy between Unix time (the number of seconds since January 1, 1970) and the actual time due to the Earth's slowing rotation and slight variations in its orbit. Leap seconds were introduced to address this, but their complexities lead to a plan to discontinue them by 2035. The author proposes a novel solution: periodically adjusting Earth's orbit to maintain synchronization between the solar year and the average Gregorian calendar year, thereby eliminating the need for leap seconds.