Minute (min)
The minute, symbol min, is 60 seconds. Its name comes from the Latin for “first small part.” Minutes have been used since ancient times when base-60 number systems shaped early timekeeping. Minutes are part of daily life—used in clocks, plans, and math. Although the SI system uses seconds, minutes are still important for daily and cultural needs, thereby linking science with everyday life.
Second (s)
The second is the fundamental SI unit used to measure time. At first, it was defined as 1/86,400 of the average length of a solar day. However, because the Earth’s rotation is not perfectly consistent, this method was imprecise. In 1967, scientists redefined the second based on atomic properties: one second equals the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of radiation from a cesium-133 atom. This atomic standard ensures remarkable accuracy in timekeeping, which is essential for technologies like GPS, communications, and scientific experiments. The second remains a cornerstone for tracking and organizing time in today’s world.