How a computer tells time

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"Computers running Windows 95 or later can take advantage of a third circuit to measure time even more accurately. The frequency of this high- speed oscillator varies from one computer to another. But it usually produces a few million pulses each second.

Because this timer ticks so furiously, Windows allocates more space to store its current value. This counter can continue to increase until it's recorded a total of 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 ticks! This should take at least 21,350,398 seconds (assuming a fast 10 MHz oscillator), or a little over 58,454 years, before the counter reaches its limit. They tell me at that point the count is reset to zero and begins again."

BTW:
If you're a real geek, you may want this:
Excel Function Wall Clock

Some of the functions used to indicate the time are:
=INT(PI)

=FACT(3)

=GCD(77,49)

and

=ROMAN(2)

[Edited entry from 12/7/2004]




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