how do digital devices (like phones, computers) keep time? I get clockwork but even my fairy lights have a timer on – how?
In: Technology
The simple way to have an accurate close in an electrical unit is with a crystal oscillator.
It is a physical crystal that is shaped so it vibrates at a specific frequency just like how a tuning fork vibrates a specific frequency. Some of them are [fork-shaped](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuning_fork#/media/File:Inside_QuartzCrystal-Tuningfork.jpg) and for clocks, they are tuned to 32768 Hz.
They can be used to create an electrical signal with just that frequency and you then have a circuit that counts the pulses to measure time. after you count 32768 pulses a second have passed.
There is a reason that you have mechanical clocks and quartz clock.
When in operation you have a crystal with a higher frequency that produces the color signal that the device uses internally. But when turned off you have a small battery, crystal, and part of a chip just to run the clock all the time.
Any net-connected device can use a standard protocol to connect to a time server to get the exact time so your phone and computer will get and update the time multiple times per day if you leave the function enabled.
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