Synchronization
coordination of events to operate a system in unison
Synchronization is the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. For example, the conductor of an orchestra keeps the orchestra synchronized or in time. Systems that operate with all parts in synchrony are said to be synchronous or in sync—and those that are not are asynchronous.
Today, time synchronization can occur between systems around the world through satellite navigation signals and other time and frequency transfer techniques.
Navigation and railways
Time-keeping and synchronization of clocks is a critical problem in long-distance ocean navigation. Before radio navigation and satellite-based navigation, navigators required accurate time in conjunction with astronomical observations to determine how far east or west their vessel traveled. The invention of an accurate marine chronometer revolutionized marine navigation. By the end of the 19th century, important ports provided time signals in the form of a signal gun, flag, or dropping time ball so that mariners could check and correct their chronometers for error.
Synchronization was important in the operation of 19th-century railways, these being the first major means of transport fast enough for differences in local mean time between nearby towns to be noticeable. Each line handled the problem by synchronizing all its stations to headquarters as a standard railway time.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Synchronization” as coordination of events to operate a system in unison. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as coordination of events to operate a system in unison. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1058791. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Synchronization” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.