
Will the world end on January 19th 2038 because of 32-bit computers?
Find out why 2,147,483,647 is an important number, and why it could lead to another Y2K

Why is the number 2,147,483,647 important, and why could it be a problem for 32-bit computers?
As programmer Jad Joubran explains, it's all to do with the way modern computers count time. Today, they do it by counting the seconds to have elapsed since January 1st 1970.
This number of seconds is called the UNIX Timestamp.
The problem is that 32-bit computers can only count so far until all possible numbers that can be represented in 32-bit binary code are used up. And that upper limit will be reached on January 19th 2038, at precisely 03:47:07 UTC.
But will that really be a problem? Watch Joubran explain more below.
V3 Latest
First plant to grow on the Moon, err, dies
Cotton seedling freezes to death as Chang'e-4 shuts down for the Moon's 14-day lunar night
Fortnite news and updates: Fortnite made $2.4bn in 2018, according to SuperData
Fortnite easily out-earns PUBG, Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018
Japanese firm sends micro-satellites into space to deliver artificial meteor showers on demand
Meteor showers as a service will be visible for about 100 kilometres in all directions
Saturn's rings only formed in the past 100 million years, suggests analysis of Cassini space probe data
New findings contradict conventional belief that Saturn's rings were formed along with the planet about 4.5 billion years ago