Seicont

The seicont (seembol: s) is a unit o time, an ane o the seiven SI base units. It is the time taen by 9,192,631,770 cycles o radiation that comes frae electrons movin atween twa virr levels o the caesium-133 atom.

A seicont is 1/60 o a meenit, an 1/3600 o an oor an aw.

The seicont (SI seembol: s), whiles abbreviate sec., is the name o a unit o time, an is the Internaitional Seestem o Units (SI) base unit o time.

SI prefixes aften gae thegither wi the wird seicont tae denote subdiveesions o the seicont, e.g., the milliseicont (ane thoosant o a seicont) an nanoseicont (ane thoosand milliont o a seicont). Tho SI prefixes micht can be uised for tae mak multiples o the seicont an aw (sic as “kiloseicont”, or ane thoosand seiconts), sic units are anely uised rarely in practice. Mair commonly met, non-SI units o time sic as the meenit, oor, an day increase by multiples o 60 an 24 (raither nor by pouers o ten as in the SI seestem).

Historical origin

Oreeginally, the seicont wis kent as a "seicont meenit", meanin the seicont minute (i.e. smaw) diveesion o an oor. The first diveesion wis kent as a "prime minute" an is equivalent tae the meenit we ken the day.