Can you help me comprehending this passage?
The International Telecommunication Union decided that astronomical time could not differ from Coordinated Universal Time—which is based on atomic time—by more than 0.9 second. Because the two systems are inherently out of step, it’s periodically necessary to add “leap second” to bring them into sync. Most people didn’t notice, but one of those seconds was added after midnight on Dec. 31, 2005, just before 2006 began. A leap second, says Jonathan Betts of the Royal Observatory, “asks the atomic clocks to hold their breath for one second, so that the Earth can catch up.”
I'm confused by these two from the above passage :
1."astronomical time could not differ from Coordinated Universal Time—which is based on atomic time—by more than 0.9 second."
2."A leap second, says Jonathan Betts of the Royal Observatory, “asks the atomic clocks to hold their breath for one second, so that the Earth can catch up.”"
The following is how I interpret each part:
1>UTC(Coordinated Universal Time) based on atomic time is at best slower by 0.9 second than astronomical time.
2>atomic clock is faster than the Earth
But, when comparing them, I feel there's something wrong with my interpretation of 1. "astronomical time could not differ from Coordinated Universal Time—which is based on atomic time—by more than 0.9 second." I'm not sure what does "by more than 0.9 second." modify among "astronomical time", "Coordinated Universal Time" and "atomic time". What is "by more than 0.9 second" modifying?
Search from various English teachers...
Corrections · 5
1
Can you help me comprehending this passage?
The International Telecommunication Union decided that astronomical time could not differ from Coordinated Universal Time—which is based on atomic time—by more than 0.9 second. Because the two systems are inherently out of step, it’s periodically necessary to add “leap second” to bring them into sync. Most people didn’t notice, but one of those seconds was added after midnight on Dec. 31, 2005, just before 2006 began. A leap second, says Jonathan Betts of the Royal Observatory, “asks the atomic clocks to hold their breath for one second, so that the Earth can catch up.”
I'm confused by these two from the above passage :
1."astronomical time could not differ from Coordinated Universal Time—which is based on atomic time—by more than 0.9 second."
2."A leap second, says Jonathan Betts of the Royal Observatory, “asks the atomic clocks to hold their breath for one second, so that the Earth can catch up.”"
The following is how I interpret each part:
1>UTC(Coordinated Universal Time) based on atomic time is at best slower by 0.9 second than astronomical time. No. You cannot interpret this way given how the sentence is written. It did not suggest that atomic time is slower than astronomical time. It simply means that the duration of the two systems is different. The discrepency/difference between these not systems cannot be more than 0.9 of a second.
2>atomic clock is faster than the Earth.Not quite. It means that the atomic clock timing is faster ie has a shorter duration than the astronomical time. So when the system is out of sync with each other by more than 0.9 seconds, a second must be added to the UTC time so that offset the difference.
Atomic time itself cannot be modified. It is a natural frequency of the element etc. UTC is a man made contraption that is based on it. So it can be modified.
But, when comparing them, I feel there's something wrong with my interpretation of 1. "astronomical time could not differ from Coordinated Universal Time—which is based on atomic time—by more than 0.9 second." I'm not sure what does "by more than 0.9 second." modify among "astronomical time", "Coordinated Universal Time" and "atomic time". What is "by more than 0.9 second" modifying?
0
Thank you for giving me a hand, Mitchell.
Thank you for the clarifying explanation, Hugo. Now I see why I was stuck on the 1. I thought "more" was only linked to "faster". I'm glad I can understand the passage now that more can also mean "slower OR faster" in the context.
0
1. Basically, the difference between UTC and astronomical time can't be more than 0.9 seconds. It could be up to 0.9 seconds slower OR faster. The word "more" refers to the the difference between the two times. They could be exactly the same time, or UTC could be up to 0.9 seconds faster, or 0.9 seconds slower.
2. Yes, the atomic clock is slightly faster than astronomical time. To bring them back into synchronization, atomic clocks "pause" for one second when the accumulated gap reaches one second.
Let me know if that just makes things more confusing. :-)
0
Just "astronomical time could not differ from Coordinated Universal Time—which is based on atomic time—by more than 0.9 " itself makes me think "by more than 0.9 second" modifies "astronomical time", i.e. astronomical time is the same as or faster than Coordinated Universal Time less than 0.9 second.
The International Telecommunication Union decided that astronomical time could not differ from Coordinated Universal Time—which is based on atomic time—by more than 0.9 second.
0
From the logic of the passage, it appears that over some period of time, the atomic clock reaches a point where it runs .9 seconds faster than the Coordinated Universal Time. So, when it reaches that point, they add 1 second to the atomic clock in order to slow it down and resync the 2 times together. I think you're right, the atomic clock is moving slightly faster than the Universal Time. This "leap second" is just like the "leap year" that happens once every four years. I hope I helped at all!
Want to progress faster?
Join this learning community and try out free exercises!
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!
Start Learning Today
