Core Viewpoint - A significant wind event caused a power outage at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado, resulting in the U.S. standard time being delayed by 4.8 microseconds [1] Group 1 - The power outage occurred on December 17, affecting the operation of over a dozen atomic clocks used to calculate the official standard time [1] - The backup generators at NIST also failed during the outage, leading to the time drift [1] - The 4.8 microsecond delay is described as extremely brief, with a comparison made to the time it takes for a human to blink, which is approximately 350,000 microseconds [1] Group 2 - Power was restored to the NIST facility by the evening of December 20, and staff are currently assessing the impact of the outage [1] - The significance of the 4.8 microsecond drift depends on the users; for the general public, it is negligible, but it could have serious implications for critical infrastructure, telecommunications, and GPS applications [1]
一场大风 导致美国标准时间慢了4.8微秒
Zhong Guo Xin Wen Wang·2025-12-23 07:44