Scientists have announced that the Earth experienced its shortest day on July 26, 2022. According to the data analyzed, this particular day was 1.5 milliseconds faster than average. We're used to measuring each day as a set of 24 hours, but this is just for simplicity. In fact, each day is a slightly different length, although the difference in length isusually so tiny that it goes unnoticed. However, in recent years, the Earth has begun to spin faster. What do scientists say about this?

Measuring time

Most of us probably measure the flow of time with ordinary, device clocks. While this method serves us well in our daily lives, they are extremely inaccurate for measuring the flow of time accurately. If you want to measure the true flow of time, you must use what is called an atomic clock. Atomic clocks are the most accurate clocks ever used. Onehe atomic clock uses the radioactive decay of particular elements, which decay at constant rates that can be measured. Thus, atomic clocks can measure time down to its smallest units. By comparing atomic clocks to the speed of the Earth's rotation, scientists can see whether the Earth is spinning slower or faster.

Possible explanations

The fact that the Earth is spinning faster should not be cause for alarm. After all, it only adds a few milliseconds each year, which in itself has no impact on our daily lives. The speed of the Earth's rotation has never been a constant factor in our world. Dozens of factors influence the Earth's orbit, such as the interaction with the Moon, Sun and planets. Adensity and speed of our atmosphere, as well as interactions between the Earth's crust and interior, can change the speed of our planet's rotation. In fact, over many millions of years, the Earth's rotation is actually slowing down. When dinosaurs walked on Earth more than 65 million years ago, days were more than an hour shorter than they are today.This iscaused mainly by the fact that the Moon is slowly moving away from us, causing the Earth's rotation to slow down.

The current measured increases in the speed of the Earth's rotation are a mystery. So far, scientists haven't quite figured out what is causing this, but there are some proposed explanations. One of these explanations has to do with what is called the Chandler Wobble. The Chandler Wobble is a phenomenon that causes the Earth to wobble slightly on its axis. Interestingly, as of 2017, the Chandler Wobblesuddenly disappeared, which could explain why the Earth has experienced faster rotation since that time. There are a number of other possible factors as well. The speed of the atmosphere could also be the culprit. Or maybe something is happening in the Earth's mantle and core, which could also be increasing the Earth's speed.