Processor clock

Every processor contains a clock. It’s a tiny circuit that generates a regular, repeating signal (like a heartbeat) that makes sure that everything in the processor happens at the right time.

It also makes sure that data moves around the processor and rest of the computer at the right time. We don’t want data to be double-counted, missed, or to interfere with other data, which could happen if we didn’t have a clock.

Clock speed

The clock runs at a certain speed - the Clock speed is the number of times the clock ‘pulses’ every second.