Q: Is a timer a specialized type of clock for measuring time intervals? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Are timers not devices nor parts of devices? ¶
A: Yes, they exist only in lines of code.
Q: Are timers implemented as a simple single-chip computer system? ¶
A: Yes, and similar to a watch and usually using the same, mass-produced, technology.
Q: Are timers usually simulated by the software built into the controller? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Are timers used in safety devices such as a gas timer? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Is a timer just an entry in a table maintained by the software? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Are timers essentially quartz clocks with special electronics? ¶
A: Yes, and can achieve higher precision than mechanical timers.
Q: Is a timer just a software application on a phone or tablet? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Is a timer now less expensive than many mechanical and electromechanical timers? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Are timers now implemented in software? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Were timers often combined with electrical relays to create electro-mechanical controllers? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Are timers typically set by turning a dial to the time interval desired? ¶
A: Yes, turning the dial stores energy in a mainspring to run the mechanism.
Q: Was a timer invented in 1926 by Thomas Norman Hicks? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Is a timer the hourglass? ¶
A: Yes, and in which a fixed amount of sand drains through a narrow opening from one chamber to another to measure a time interval.
Q: Are timers sometimes of this type? ¶
A: Yes.