Definition: | system of ordered marks which can be attributed to instants on the time axis, one instant being chosen as the origin NOTE 1 A timescale may be chosen as: - continuous, e.g. international atomic time (TAI) (see 713-05-18),
- continuous with discontinuities, e.g. coordinated universal time (UTC) (see 713-05-20) due to leap seconds, standard time due to summer time awinter time,
- successive steps, e.g. usual calendars, where the time axis is split up into a succession of consecutive time intervals and the same mark is attributed to all instants of each time interval,
- discrete, e.g. in digital techniques.
NOTE 2 For physical and technical applications, a timescale with quantitative marks is preferred, based on a chosen initial instant together with a unit of measurement. NOTE 3 Customary timescales use various units of measurement in combination, such as second, minute, hour, or various time intervals of the calendar such as calendar day, calendar month, calendar year.
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