Unix Time
What is Unix Timestamp?
The Unix Epoch is the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970 (00:00:00 UTC). It is the standard way computers store and track time, irrespective of time zones.
Why 1970?
It was an arbitrary date chosen by the early developers of the Unix operating system as a starting point. It is strictly UTC, meaning it does not observe Daylight Savings Time.
The Year 2038 Problem
Legacy systems store time as a signed 32-bit integer. The maximum value is 2,147,483,647, which corresponds to January 19, 2038. After this, these systems might crash or wrap around to 1901. Modern 64-bit systems have fixed this issue.
Common Conversions
- 1 Minute = 60 seconds
- 1 Hour = 3600 seconds
- 1 Day = 86400 seconds
- 1 Year ≈ 31.5 million seconds
FAQ
What is NTP?
Network Time Protocol (NTP) is used to synchronize the clocks of computers over a network, ensuring your device shows the correct Unix time.