The clocks will stop for an entire second on June 30 and that could break the Internet. Here's how Google wants to limit damage.
So here’s something interesting, 2015 is going to be a little longer than other years, quite literally, and we do mean little. In order to account for the slowing down of the Earth’s rotation, scientists have added one measly second to the calendar. Doesn’t make a difference right? Google thinks it does. Apparently, the addition of a second can break the Internet. So, Google is reportedly taking preemptive action for the same.
The extra second will be added to the calendar on June 30, precisely at 11.59.60. How ? Well, clocks will stand still for an entire second in order to add the time. Even though hardly anyone will realise it, the day will have 86,401 seconds instead of 86,400 seconds. This will have consequences for the Internet and computers at large. This had happened back in 2012, when websites like LinkedIn, Reddit and Yelp had gone down. The reason for the same is that the extra second cause computers to malfunction as more and more computers sync with atomic clocks today, because of which, even the difference of one second could cause them to malfunction.
Further, Google has reportedly figured out how to prevent websites from crashing during this time. The search giant will be adding a millisecond to its system clocks gradually, instead of pausing for a second on the day. As a result, the computers will be corrected over time and won’t have to count the same second twice. Let's hope it works.
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