
[Middle English seconde, from Old French, from Medieval Latin (pars minūta) secunda, second (small part), feminine of Latin secundus, second, following. See second2.]

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin secundus.]
| seasonable, seasonal, seance, scrimmage, scrummage | |
| second hand, secretary, sect |
The ordinal (also 2nd), being the element of an ordered set preceded by just one other, and indirectly from that, the element of a second layer of subdividing. In a hierarchical scheme of subdivided units, the unit of the second rung or layer. Often a subdivision of minute, and then rarely other than a sixtieth of a minute, but also a subdivision of prime, when it is often a tenth. Being the second subdivision, it is commonly represented by a double prime mark, e.g. 3″ for 3 seconds of time, of angle, etc.
length British Using the symbol ″ but not its name, a denotation for inch, the second subdivision (following foot) of yard. Also as link, = 1/10 prime= 1/100 Rathborn chain = 99/50 in = 1.98 in (50.292 mm).
time. Symbol s in the SI. Traditionally 1/60 of a minute, thereby 1/86400 of a day (a unit varying in size depending on the qualifier) and sized by such fractioning. Since 1967, however, the second of normal usage (derived from the mean solar day), the base unit for time in the SI and other metric systems, has been defined as the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
[Bergquist J. C., Jefferts S. R., Wineland D. J. Phys. Today Vol. 54:3, 37-44 (2000) on-line at
| second | |||
| 60 | minute | ||
| 3 600 | 60 | hour | |
| 86 400 | 1 440 | 24 | day |
| 1952 | 8th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union: ‘…the second of ephemeris time (ET) is the fraction 12960276813/408986496 × 109 of the tropical year for 1900 January 0 at 12 h ET i.e. effectively the traditional 1/86400 of a day, but that day being the mean solar day based on the length of a specific year.’ |
| 1956 | CIPM: ‘…considering the above, decides |
| The second is the fraction 1/31556925.9747 of the tropical year for 1900 January 0 at 12 hours ephemeris time.’ | |
| 1960 | 11th CGPM: ‘ratifies the above.’ |
| 1964 | CIPM: ‘declares that the “molecular or atomic frequency” standard to be employed is the transition between the hyperfine levels F = 4, M = 0 and F = 3, M = 0 of the ground state 2S½ of the caesium 133 atom, unperturbed by external fields, and that the frequency of this transition is assigned the value 9 192 631 770 hertz i.e. indirectly defining the second as the time for the said number of such transitions.’ |
| 1967-68 | 13th CGPM: ‘The second is the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium 133 atom.’ |
| 1997 | CIPM: ‘affirms that this definition refers to a caesium atom at rest at a emperature of K.’ |
geometry (

astronomy Note: for right ascension the second of the sidereal clock, for declination, etc., it is the second of plane angle, a ratio of 15:1.
music (2nd) See interval.
other For second degree, see degree.
see also centesimal second; Redwood; Saybolt Universal Second.
noun
noun
Idioms beginning with second:
second hand
second thoughts
second fiddle
second best
second childhood
second cousin
second nature
second sight
second to none
second wind
See also at second hand; come off (second best); in a flash (second); in the first (second) place; on second thought; play second fiddle; split second; top (second) banana.
Definition: subordinate
Antonyms: first, top
v
Definition: support, advance a suggestion
Antonyms: move
2. denoting someone or something regarded as comparable to or reminiscent of a better-known predecessor: a fear that the conflict would turn into a second Vietnam.
3. an act or instance of seconding.
2. subordinate or inferior in position, rank, or importance: it was second only to Copenhagen among Baltic ports
3. an attendant assisting a combatant in a duel.
v.formally support or endorse (a nomination or resolution or its proposer) as a necessary preliminary to adoption or further discussion: He seconded the nomination.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
The INTERVAL between any adjacent diatonic scale degrees (e.g. C-D, E♭-F). If the interval is a whole tone it is a major 2nd, if a semitone, a minor 2nd.
1. Base unit of time in the SI system; symbol s. It was formerly defined as 1/86 400 of the mean solar day, but it is now defined in terms of periods of radiation from a caesium-133 atom.
2. A unit of angle equal to 1/60 of a minute of an arc.
To convert from seconds (angle) to:
degrees,
multiply by 2.7777778E-04.
minutes,
multiply by .01666667.
quadrants,
multiply by 3.087E-06.
radians,
multiply by 4.848137E-06.

| seco-steroid, seco-carotenoid, seco- | |
| second messenger, secondary, secondary bond |

The second (SI unit symbol: s) is the International System of Units (SI) base unit of time[1] and also a unit of time in other systems (abbreviated s or sec[2]). Between 1000 (when al-Biruni used seconds) and 1960 the second was defined as 1/86,400 of a mean solar day (that definition still applies in some astronomical and legal contexts).[3][4] Between 1960 and 1967, it was defined in terms of the period of the Earth's orbit around the Sun in 1900,[5] but it is now defined more precisely in atomic terms. Seconds may be measured using mechanical, electric or atomic clocks.
However, 19th- and 20th-century astronomical observations revealed that this average time is lengthening and thus the sun–earth motion is no longer considered a suitable basis for definition. With the advent of atomic clocks, it became feasible to define the second based on fundamental properties of nature. Since 1967, the second has been defined to be:
the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium 133 atom.[1]
SI prefixes are frequently combined with the word second to denote subdivisions of the second, e.g., the millisecond (one thousandth of a second), the microsecond (one millionth of a second), and the nanosecond (one billionth of a second). Though SI prefixes may also be used to form multiples of the second such as kilosecond (one thousand seconds), such units are rarely used in practice. The more common larger non-SI units of time are not formed by powers of ten; instead, the second is multiplied by 60 to form a minute, which is multiplied by 60 to form an hour, which is multiplied by 24 to form a day.
The second is also the base unit of time in the centimetre-gram-second, metre-kilogram-second, metre-tonne-second, and foot-pound-second systems of units.
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Under the International System of Units (via the International Committee for Weights and Measures, or CIPM), since 1967 the second has been defined as the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium 133 atom.[1] In 1997 CIPM added that the periods would be defined for a caesium atom at rest, and approaching the theoretical temperature of absolute zero, and in 1999, it included corrections from ambient radiation.[1]
This definition refers to a caesium atom at rest at a temperature of 0 K (absolute zero). Absolute zero implies no movement, and therefore zero external radiation effects (i.e., zero local electric and magnetic fields). The second thus defined is consistent with the ephemeris second, which was based on astronomical measurements. (See History below.)
The realization of the standard second is described briefly in a special publication from the National Institute of Standards and Technology,[6] and in detail by the National Research Council of Canada.[7]
1 international second is equal to:
The Egyptians subdivided daytime and nighttime into twelve hours each since at least 2000 BC, hence the seasonal variation of their hours. The Hellenistic astronomers Hipparchus (c. 150 BC) and Ptolemy (c. AD 150) subdivided the day sexagesimally and also used a mean hour (1⁄24 day), simple fractions of an hour (1⁄4, 2⁄3, etc.) and time-degrees (1⁄360 day or four modern minutes), but not modern minutes or seconds.[8]
The day was subdivided sexagesimally, that is by 1⁄60, by 1⁄60 of that, by 1⁄60 of that, etc., to at least six places after the sexagesimal point (a precision of better than 2 microseconds) by the Babylonians after 300 BC. For example, six fractional sexagesimal places of a day was used in their specification of the length of the year, although they were unable to measure such a small fraction of a day in real time. As another example, they specified that the mean synodic month was 29;31,50,8,20 days (four fractional sexagesimal positions), which was repeated by Hipparchus and Ptolemy sexagesimally, and is currently the mean synodic month of the Hebrew calendar, though restated as 29 days 12 hours 793 halakim (where 1 hour = 1080 halakim).[9] The Babylonians did not use the hour, but did use a double-hour lasting 120 modern minutes, a time-degree lasting four modern minutes, and a barleycorn lasting 31⁄3 modern seconds (the helek of the modern Hebrew calendar),[10] but did not sexagesimally subdivide these smaller units of time. No sexagesimal unit of the day was ever used as an independent unit of time.
In 1000, the Persian scholar al-Biruni gave the times of the new moons of specific weeks as a number of days, hours, minutes, seconds, thirds, and fourths after noon Sunday.[4] In 1267, the medieval scientist Roger Bacon stated the times of full moons as a number of hours, minutes, seconds, thirds, and fourths (horae, minuta, secunda, tertia, and quarta) after noon on specified calendar dates.[11] Although a third for 1⁄60 of a second remains in some languages, for example Polish (tercja) and Turkish (salise), the modern second is subdivided decimally.
The earliest clocks to display seconds appeared during the last half of the 16th century. The earliest spring-driven timepiece with a second hand which marked seconds is an unsigned clock depicting Orpheus in the Fremersdorf collection, dated between 1560 and 1570.[12]:417–418[13] During the 3rd quarter of the 16th century, Taqi al-Din built a clock with marks every 1/5 minute.[14] In 1579, Jost Bürgi built a clock for William of Hesse that marked seconds.[12]:105 In 1581, Tycho Brahe redesigned clocks that displayed minutes at his observatory so they also displayed seconds. However, they were not yet accurate enough for seconds. In 1587, Tycho complained that his four clocks disagreed by plus or minus four seconds.[12]:104
The second first became accurately measurable with the development of pendulum clocks keeping mean time (as opposed to the apparent time displayed by sundials). In 1644, Marin Mersenne calculated that a pendulum with a length of 39.1 inches (0.994 m) would have a period at standard gravity of precisely two seconds, one second for a swing forward and one second for the return swing, enabling such a pendulum to tick in precise seconds.
In 1670, London clockmaker William Clement added this seconds pendulum to the original pendulum clock of Christian Huygens.[15] From 1670 to 1680, Clement made many improvements to his clock and introduced the longcase or grandfather clock to the public. This clock used an anchor escapement mechanism with a seconds pendulum to display seconds in a small subdial. This mechanism required less power, caused less friction and was accurate enough to measure seconds reliably as one-sixtieth of a minute than the older verge escapement. Within a few years, most British precision clockmakers were producing longcase clocks and other clockmakers soon followed. Thus the second could now be reliably measured.
In 1956 the second was defined in terms of the period of revolution of the Earth around the Sun for a particular epoch, because by then it had become recognized that the Earth's rotation on its own axis was not sufficiently uniform as a standard of time. The Earth's motion was described in Newcomb's Tables of the Sun (1895), which provide a formula estimating the motion of the Sun relative to the epoch 1900 based on astronomical observations made between 1750 and 1892.[5] The second thus defined is
the fraction 1/31,556,925.9747 of the tropical year for 1900 January 0 at 12 hours ephemeris time.[5]
This definition was ratified by the Eleventh General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1960. The tropical year in the definition was not measured, but calculated from a formula describing a mean tropical year that decreased linearly over time, hence the curious reference to a specific instantaneous tropical year. This definition of the second was in conformity with the ephemeris time scale adopted by the IAU in 1952,[16] defined as the measure of time that brings the observed positions of the celestial bodies into accord with the Newtonian dynamical theories of their motion (those accepted for use during most of the 20th century being Newcomb's Tables of the Sun, used from 1900 through 1983, and Brown's Tables of the Moon, used from 1923 through 1983).[5]
With the development of the atomic clock, it was decided to use atomic clocks as the basis of the definition of the second, rather than the revolution of the Earth around the Sun.
Following several years of work, Louis Essen from the National Physical Laboratory (Teddington, England) and William Markowitz from the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) determined the relationship between the hyperfine transition frequency of the caesium atom and the ephemeris second.[5][17] Using a common-view measurement method based on the received signals from radio station WWV,[18] they determined the orbital motion of the Moon about the Earth, from which the apparent motion of the Sun could be inferred, in terms of time as measured by an atomic clock. They found that the second of ephemeris time (ET) had the duration of 9,192,631,770 ± 20 cycles of the chosen caesium frequency.[17] As a result, in 1967 the Thirteenth General Conference on Weights and Measures defined the second of atomic time in the International System of Units as
the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.[5]
This SI second, referred to atomic time, was later verified to be in agreement, within 1 part in 1010, with the second of ephemeris time as determined from lunar observations.[19] (Nevertheless, this SI second was already, when adopted, a little shorter than the then-current value of the second of mean solar time.[20][21])
During the 1970s it was realized that gravitational time dilation caused the second produced by each atomic clock to differ depending on its altitude. A uniform second was produced by correcting the output of each atomic clock to mean sea level (the rotating geoid), lengthening the second by about 1×10−10. This correction was applied at the beginning of 1977 and formalized in 1980. In relativistic terms, the SI second is defined as the proper time on the rotating geoid.[22]
The definition of the second was later refined at the 1997 meeting of the BIPM to include the statement
This definition refers to a caesium atom at rest at a temperature of 0 K.
The revised definition seems to imply that the ideal atomic clock contains a single caesium atom at rest emitting a single frequency. In practice, however, the definition means that high-precision realizations of the second should compensate for the effects of the ambient temperature (black-body radiation) within which atomic clocks operate, and extrapolate accordingly to the value of the second at a temperature of absolute zero.
Today, the atomic clock operating in the microwave region is challenged by atomic clocks operating in the optical region. To quote Ludlow et al.,[23] “In recent years, optical atomic clocks have become increasingly competitive in performance with their microwave counterparts. The overall accuracy of single trapped ion based optical standards closely approaches that of the state-of-the-art caesium fountain standards. Large ensembles of ultracold alkaline earth atoms have provided impressive clock stability for short averaging times, surpassing that of single-ion based systems. So far, interrogation of neutral atom based optical standards has been carried out primarily in free space, unavoidably including atomic motional effects that typically limit the overall system accuracy. An alternative approach is to explore the ultranarrow optical transitions of atoms held in an optical lattice. The atoms are tightly localized so that Doppler and photon-recoil related effects on the transition frequency are eliminated.”
The NRC attaches a "relative uncertainty" of 2.5×10−11 (limited by day-to-day and device-to-device reproducibility) to their atomic clock based upon the 127I2 molecule, and is advocating use of an 88Sr ion trap instead (relative uncertainty due to linewidth of 2.2×10−15). See magneto-optical trap and "Trapped ion optical frequency standards". National Physical Laboratory. http://www.npl.co.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.1086. Such uncertainties rival that of the NIST F-1 caesium atomic clock in the microwave region, estimated as a few parts in 1016 averaged over a day.[24][25]
SI prefixes are commonly used to measure time less than a second, but rarely for multiples of a second (which is known as metric time). Instead, the non-SI units minutes, hours, days, Julian years, Julian centuries, and Julian millennia are used.
| Submultiples | Multiples | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | Symbol | Name | Value | Symbol | Name | |
| 10−1 s | ds | decisecond | 101 s | das | decasecond | |
| 10−2 s | cs | centisecond | 102 s | hs | hectosecond | |
| 10−3 s | ms | millisecond | 103 s | ks | kilosecond | |
| 10−6 s | µs | microsecond | 106 s | Ms | megasecond | |
| 10−9 s | ns | nanosecond | 109 s | Gs | gigasecond | |
| 10−12 s | ps | picosecond | 1012 s | Ts | terasecond | |
| 10−15 s | fs | femtosecond | 1015 s | Ps | petasecond | |
| 10−18 s | as | attosecond | 1018 s | Es | exasecond | |
| 10−21 s | zs | zeptosecond | 1021 s | Zs | zettasecond | |
| 10−24 s | ys | yoctosecond | 1024 s | Ys | yottasecond | |
| Common prefixes are in bold | ||||||
For specialized purposes, a second may be used as a unit of time in time scales where the precise length differs slightly from the SI definition. One such time scale is UT1, a form of universal time. McCarthy and Seidelmann refrain from stating that the SI second is the legal standard for timekeeping throughout the world, saying only that "over the years UTC [which ticks SI seconds] has become either the basis for legal time of many countries, or accepted as the de facto basis for standard civil time".[26]
| Look up second in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Second |
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Dansk (Danish)
1.
num. - anden
n. - sekundering, støtte
v. tr. - sekundere, støtte
adv. - nummer to
idioms:
2.
n. - sekund
idioms:
3.
v. tr. - overføre, udlåne, stille til rådighed
Nederlands (Dutch)
tweede, andere, inferieur, ten tweede, seconde, tel, ogenblik, seconderen, steunen (motie), assisteren
Français (French)
1.
n. - (Math, Phys) seconde, instant, deuxième, second, deux (pour une date), (GB, Univ) assez bien, (Aut) deuxième/seconde (vitesse), article à défauts, soigneur (boxe), témoin (d'un duel), (Mus) seconde
adj. - deuxième, second, d'un autre (une opinion)
v. tr. - (gén) seconder, (Sport) être le soigneur de, être le témoin de, (gén) soutenir, appuyer (une idée), (Comm) détacher (de, à)
adv. - deuxièmement
idioms:
2.
n. - seconde
idioms:
3.
v. tr. - (Mil) détacher (de, à)
Deutsch (German)
1.
num. - Zweite
n. - Sekunde, Zweiter, Sekundant
v. - sekundieren, unterstützen, abstellen
adv. - unterstützen
idioms:
2.
n. - Sekunde
idioms:
3.
v. - abstellen, zeitweilig versetzen
Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - δεύτερος, υποδεέστερος, πρόσθετος
n. - δευτερόλεπτο, δεύτερος, βοηθός αγωνιζομένου, μάρτυρας μονομαχίας, (χρονική) στιγμή, δεύτερη ταχύτητα (αυτοκινήτου κ.λπ.), (μουσ.) άλτο, (πληθ.) είδη δεύτερης ποιότητας, (πληθ.) δεύτερη μερίδα
v. - υποστηρίζω, (στρατ.) αποσπώ
num. - δεύτερος
idioms:
Italiano (Italian)
assecondare, spalleggiare, appoggiare, distaccare, in secondo luogo, secondo, assistente, seconda
idioms:
Português (Portuguese)
adj. - segundo
n. - segundo (m), assistente (m), testemunha (f)
v. - secundar
num. - segundo
idioms:
Русский (Russian)
секунда, момент, второй, помощник, получивший вторую премию, секундант, второй класс (какого-л. транспорта), товар второго сорта, второе (блюдо), второй (по счету, по времени), повторный, второстепенный, другой, еще один, дополнительный, уступающий (в чем-л.), второсортный, во-вторых, выступать в поддержку, быть секундантом
idioms:
Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - en segundo lugar, segundo
adj. - segundo, mediocre, secundario, inferior, de los segundos
v. tr. - secundar, apoyar, asistir
adv. - en segundo lugar, en segunda clase
idioms:
2.
n. - segundo, momento, instante
idioms:
3.
v. tr. - (mil) trasladar temporalmente
Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - andra, ännu en, en till, underlägsen, sekunda, sekundär
n. - tvåa, andra man, sekund, ögonblick, tvåans växel, tvåan, sekundant, medhjälpare
v. - understödja, biträda, ansluta sig till, instämma i, sekundera, detachera, avdela
adj. - näst, andra klass, som tvåa som nummer två i ordn
num. - andra
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 秒, 瞬间, 片刻
idioms:
2. 第二的, 二等的, 次等的, 第二次的, 次要的, 从属的, 副的, 第二名, 二等奖, 第二位, 助手, 另一人, 支持人, 赞成, 支持, 居第二位, 第二, 其次
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 秒, 瞬間, 片刻
idioms:
2.
adj. - 第二的, 二等的, 次等的, 第二次的, 次要的, 從屬的, 副的
n. - 第二名, 二等獎, 第二位, 助手, 另一人, 支援人
v. tr. - 贊成, 支援
adv. - 居第二位, 第二, 其次
한국어 (Korean)
1.
num. - 제2의, 또 하나의, 보조의
n. - 두 번째의 것, 제2세, 보좌관
v. tr. - 후원하다, (목표 등을) 보강하다, 찬성하다
adv. - 둘째로, 다음으로, (교통기관에서) 2등으로
idioms:
2.
n. - 초 , 매우 짧은 시간, ~하자 곧
3.
v. tr. - (장교의) 부대 소속을 해제하다, 소속을 임시로 바꾸다
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 第二のもの, 二世, 第二日, 二塁, 二流品, セカンド, 介添え人, セコンド, 秒, ちょっとの間, 瞬間
adj. - 第二の, もうひとつの, 代わりの, 低音部の, 副次的な, 二流の
v. - 後援する, 支持する, 賛成する, 介添えをする, セコンドを務める
adv. - 第二に
idioms:
العربيه (Arabic)
(صفه) أضافي, ثاني (الاسم) لحظه, ثانيه (فعل) يؤيد, يناصر (صفه) أضافي, ثاني (عدد) ألثاني
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - תמיכה, נושא-כלים, עוזר למתאגרף בעת תחרות, קמח גס או לחם הנאפה ממנו, ציון בינוני, המנה השנייה בארוחה, אקורד המשתרע על פני טונים סמוכים
adj. - שני
v. tr. - תמך, צידד ב-, הצביע בעד, עזר, העביר (זמנית) לתפקיד
adv. - שני, נוסף, אחר, שנית, משני
n. - שנייה, רגע
v. tr. - העביר (זמנית) לתפקיד
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