Sekunden

Sekunden is the plural form of Sekunde, the SI base unit of time. A Sekunde is defined as the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium-133 atom. This definition, adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) in 1967, provides the exact, reproducible basis for modern timekeeping. The second underpins measurements of duration, time intervals, and rates, and is essential in technologies such as clocks, navigation systems, communications, and scientific experiments. Common submultiples include Millisekunde (1/1000 of a second), Mikrosekunde (1/1,000,000), and Nanosekunde (1/1,000,000,000).

Historically, the concept of the second evolved from the division of the day into hours, minutes, and seconds in the medieval period, to more precise mechanical clocks in the early modern era, and later to quartz oscillators and ultimately atomic clocks. Atomic definition provides stability far beyond earlier methods, enabling global synchronization and time-stamped data.

In German usage, Sekunden functions as the plural form for durations and time intervals, for example “zehn Sekunden” (ten seconds). The term Sekunde and its plural Sekunden appear across science, law, journalism, and everyday language, reflecting its central role in temporal measurement.