How a unit of time, like a second, is counted at the very fundamental level of the processor of a computer.

Question

I think the implications of counting a second accurately is when utilizing the clock
speed of processors, job and processing scheduling, but how is that unit of time calculated ?

In: Technology

Answer 1

They use quartz. If you apply an electrical current to a piece of quartz, it will produce an oscillating electric signal. The ones we use in computers oscillate at a rate of 32768 per second, so the computer just counts the number of times it oscillates, and when it hits that number, one second has passed.