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    Glossary
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time scale

Definitions:

  An agreed upon system for keeping time. All time scales use a frequency source to define the length of the second, which is the standard unit of time interval. Seconds are then counted to measure longer units of time interval, such as minutes, hours, or days. Modern time scales, such as UTC, define the second based on an atomic property of the cesium atom, and thus standard seconds are produced by cesium oscillators. Earlier time scales (including earlier versions of Universal Time) were based on astronomical observations that measured the frequency of the Earth’s rotation.
Sources:
NIST IR 8323r1 from NIST T&F Glossary