It’s the world spinning around the Sun or shift workers shifting between days and nights our lives are determined by a variety of spinning events. Certain of these occur every day, while others are more unpredictable and less predictable.
For instance, most people are aware that Earth revolves around the Sun throughout the day. It’s not as well known that the speed at which Earth rotates can change and make the day appear shorter or longer than it actually is. This variation is why the Atomic clocks that provide standardized time have to be periodically adjusted by adding or subtracting seconds. This change is called a leap second.
Precession is a normal rotating event. It is the oscillation of the Earth’s axis, which is similar to a toy top spinning that is slightly off-center. This tilt in axial relation to fixed stars (inertial spaces) has a duration of 25,771.5. It is responsible for a variety of weather patterns, such as the alternating direction between cyclones on the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Scientists have also noticed that the speed of Earth rotation slows with time, leading solar day to become longer. That’s why on June 29, the world added a leap second to atomic clocks in order that they would be more in sync with the real-world earth’s rotation. Although the addition of a single second may seem minor, it has important implications for businesses that rely on the changing of schedules. For multinational businesses with a global workforce, managing changing call schedules using static wiki pages or spreadsheets can be costly in terms of revenue and reputation. This is why companies are using on-call rotation software to reduce service interruptions and manage the coverage of transfers and offer transparency to employees.