是时候把闰秒留在过去了
The leap second concept was first introduced in 1972 by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) in an attempt to periodically update Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) due to imprecise observed solar time (UT1) and the long-term slowdown in the Earth’s rotation. This periodic adjustment mainly benefits scientists and astronomers as it allows them to observe celestial bodies using UTC for most purposes. If there were no UTC correction, then adjustments would have to be made to the legacy equipment and software that synchronize to UTC for astronomical observations.
闰秒的概念是由国际地球自转和参考系统服务（IERS）在1972年首次提出的，目的是为了定期更新协调世界时（UTC），因为观察到的太阳时（UT1）不精确，以及地球自转的长期放缓。这种定期调整主要有利于科学家和天文学家，因为它允许他们使用UTC观察天体以达到大多数目的。如果没有UTC校正，那么就必须对与UTC同步进行天文观测的传统设备和软件进行调整。
As of today, since the introduction of the leap second, UTC has been updated 27 times.
截至今天，自从引入闰秒以来，UTC已经被更新了27次。
While the leap second might have been an acceptable solution in 1972, when it made both the scientific community and the telecom industry happy, these days UTC is equally bad for both digital applications and scientists, who often choose TAI or UT1 instead.
虽然闰秒在1972年可能是一个可以接受的解决方案，当时它让科学界和电信业都很高兴，但如今UTC对数字应用和科学家来说都同样糟糕，他们经常选择TAI或UT1来代替。
At Meta, we’re supporting an industry effort to stop future introductions of leap seconds and stay at a current level of 27. Introducing new leap seconds is a risky practice that does more harm than good, and we believe it is time to introduce new technologies to replace it.
在Meta公司，我们支持行业努力停止未来引入闰秒，并保持在目前的27岁水平。 引入新的闰秒是一种危险的做法，弊大于利，我们认为现在是引入新技术来取代它的时候了。
Leap of faith
信念的飞跃
One of many contributing factors to irregularities in the Earth’s rotation is the constant melting and refreezing of ice caps on the world’s tallest mountains. This phenomenon can be simply visualized by thinking about a spinning figure skater, who manages angular velocity by controlling their arms and hands. As they spread their arms the angular velocity decreases, preserving the skater’s momentum. As soon as the skater tucks their arms ba...