time scale
Span of measurement
A time scale is the span of time over which something occurs or is measured: On a geological time scale, human civilization is a blink.
It establishes context for understanding duration—what seems slow on one time scale may be fast on another.
In technical contexts, a time scale is a system for measuring time, like atomic time or coordinated universal time.
- eonsImmense spans of time
- epochDistinct historical period
- periodPunctuation ending sentences
- geological agesNamed periods in Earth's history
- ice agesExtended global cooling epochs
million years · centuries · long haul · chronology · duration · decades · era · continuance · short term · blink of an eye · calendar · stratigraphy · intervals · measurement · long-term · scope · historical · cosmic
time scaleinstant
Briefest unit of time
moment · split second · point in time · now · flash
time scaletimelessness
Freedom from temporal decay
stasis · permanence · frozen moment · eternity · atemporality