eli5: At the most basic level, how is a computer programmed to know how long a unit of time is?
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So everyone explained how a computer computes Time, and that’s true, now basically every computer connected to internet use what is called an NTP (Network Time Protocol) server, which is a server that sync time on multiple computers.
Basically your motherboard knows when Time passes with the crystal and the Operating System can use this information or simply use an external NTP server to sync what time it is.
We build every computer with a tiny electronic watch inside of them that can keep time. It works the same way as electronic watches do. It’s not perfectly accurate, but it works very, very well on its own, and then if you really need to you can also use the internet to synch it up with external references.
The tech used for electronic timekeeping is called the [quartz crystal oscillator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_oscillator). Basically, it works because quartz crystals change their shape when electric currents are applied to them. If you make the amount of electric current applied to the quartz crystal dependent on the crystal’s shape, then you can make a circuit that oscillates back and forth in a really-regular way, and then count those oscillations to do timekeeping.
So everyone explained how a computer computes Time, and that’s true, now basically every computer connected to internet use what is called an NTP (Network Time Protocol) server, which is a server that sync time on multiple computers.
Basically your motherboard knows when Time passes with the crystal and the Operating System can use this information or simply use an external NTP server to sync what time it is.
So everyone explained how a computer computes Time, and that’s true, now basically every computer connected to internet use what is called an NTP (Network Time Protocol) server, which is a server that sync time on multiple computers.
Basically your motherboard knows when Time passes with the crystal and the Operating System can use this information or simply use an external NTP server to sync what time it is.
We shock a little quartz crystal and it shakes, the number of shakes depends on how the crystal is cut. So because we use the same shape of crystal and same voltage we know how many times it will shake in 1 second.. we use that to figure out time in electronics especially in digital as it’s what allows us to determine if a 5v pulse is on or off and where you get the 010011001 language from.
We shock a little quartz crystal and it shakes, the number of shakes depends on how the crystal is cut. So because we use the same shape of crystal and same voltage we know how many times it will shake in 1 second.. we use that to figure out time in electronics especially in digital as it’s what allows us to determine if a 5v pulse is on or off and where you get the 010011001 language from.
We shock a little quartz crystal and it shakes, the number of shakes depends on how the crystal is cut. So because we use the same shape of crystal and same voltage we know how many times it will shake in 1 second.. we use that to figure out time in electronics especially in digital as it’s what allows us to determine if a 5v pulse is on or off and where you get the 010011001 language from.
When voltage is applied to a crystal, quartz for example, it vibrates at a known frequency. Many watches work by counting these vibrations.
When voltage is applied to a crystal, quartz for example, it vibrates at a known frequency. Many watches work by counting these vibrations.
When voltage is applied to a crystal, quartz for example, it vibrates at a known frequency. Many watches work by counting these vibrations.
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