# What time is it? A simple question with a complex answer. How computers synchronize time

DevFeed: [What time is it? A simple question with a complex answer. How computers synchronize time](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/what-time-is-it-a-simple-question-with-a-complex-answer-how-computers-synchronize-time-27113.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://andrea.corbellini.name/2023/01/23/what-time-is-it/>)

Author: andreacorbellini

Published: 2023-01-23T19:15:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Andrea Corbellini](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/andrea-corbellini.md>)

Topics: [DateTime](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/datetime.md>), [Network](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/network.md>), [Protocol (disambiguation)](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/protocol.md>)

Tags: [clocks](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/clocks.md>), [information-technology](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/information-technology.md>), [network](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/network.md>), [ntp](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ntp.md>), [performance](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/performance.md>), [protocol](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/protocol.md>), [ptp](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ptp.md>), [relativity](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/relativity.md>), [standard](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/standard.md>), [time](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/time.md>), [time-synchronization](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/time-synchronization.md>)

## AI overview

This article explains why accurate time synchronization matters for computers, phones, applications, and other devices. It introduces challenges in synchronizing time and examines the Network Time Protocol (NTP) and Precision Time Protocol (PTP), while also discussing concepts including time, change, causality, and the definition of a second.

## Source excerpt

Ever wondered how your computer or your phone displays the current date and time accurately? What keeps all the devices in the world (and in space) in agreement on what time it is? What makes applications that require precise timing possible? In this article, I will explain some of the challenges with time synchronization and explore two of the most popular protocols that devices ...