Do you have a second?

Many ponder what clock shift does to them

BY KEVIN GARCIA

The Brownsville Herald

January 1, 2006 Time stands still for no man, but it can be held back. Most people may not realize it, but they are a second older than they were at this time yesterday.

Over the New Year, scientists keeping time at atomic-based clocks around the world set their clocks forward by one second, something last done seven years ago. The change is meant to correct the length of the year.

We have leap years in which we have a whole day, but thats not exactly right, said Bob Park, professor physics at the University of Maryland. The year is, unfortunately, not divided up into an even number of days. To make a correction every four years we add a day, and on a smaller scale we have to add a second or so.

Time is integral to the life of Carlos Saccal. A clockmaker for more than 30 years, Saccal repairs watches for hundreds of people through the Portillo Jewelry, a business in downtown Brownsville.

As a watchmaker, it is important that Im on time, so that I can help other people be on time, but from a philosophical point of view, time is going to move with or without us, Saccal said, scoffing at the idea of a leap second.

I dont think there is a perfect clock in the whole world, even with the atomic clocks, Saccal said. One second is completely irrelevant. The general public would never notice.

Park, the physics professor, said this was partially true.

A second is actually a pretty crude adjustment, but its a nice, easy unit, he explained. (Timekeepers) dont make the correction of a tiny fraction every year; they just wait until the error accumulates a bit. Then, they adjust it by a second.

Even if one second wont affect most people, incorrect time would eventually cause problems in the global scientific and business communities.

Time is very important to us, and the most important thing is that everybodys clocks be running the same, Park said. All kinds of things are very precisely (on) time.

International businesses need meeting times to align, electronic communications are based on accuracy, and astronomers and physicists make measurements by fractions of time.

The biggest difference, outside of business and scientific fields, may be seen in global position systems which are dependent on the smallest of timing differences.

These days, that is very important, said Tony Rodriguez, director of cargo services for the Port of Brownsville. (Boat captains) need to know where they at, especially when time is of the essence and how long it takes them to get to point B from point A.

That said, he couldnt understand why one second would make a difference to human interactions.

A second is usually too much of an extreme, because there are other factors that mean you will never be up to the second, especially in the maritime industry, Rodriguez said. Being up-to-the-second does not affect us. Were trying to just deal with people.

Park, the physics professor, admitted that an extra second wouldnt affect him.

I let my clock run a little fast so that I can get to meetings on time, Park said. Only those people who are somehow responsible for timekeeping would notice.

Presented with an extra second to celebrate the New Year, Park said, Thats one more quick sip of champagne, I guess.

Saccal, the clock maker, thought about what he could do with an extra second and decided, I guess Ill make an extra million dollars.

kgarcia@brownsvilleherald.com