There are many concrete and abstract concepts in the world, quite familiar and ambiguous, used in many branches of science and everyday life. Among them is this capacious word. To understand what a period is, you can refer to explanatory dictionaries. And they give such interpretations of this concept.
What is a "period" in dictionaries?
So, in Dahl we read that it is the time period that determines the time from one event to another. That is: duration, duration of an event or action.
In Ozhegov, for example, it is also a period of time (in the past or present) in which an event begins, develops, ends. That is, it implies the dynamics of action.
Time period
Most often this concept is used in this sense. That is, it means some specific time period during which events occur or occurred. Regarding time, this is the interval that is opposed to other segments. This is the period during which somethinghappened (according to Ushakov's definition). What is a period? A segment during which some kind of repetitive process begins and ends (scientific definition).
In history and geology
This concept is most often used in geological and historical sciences. Thus, there are universally recognized and well-defined periods of the history of the Earth. For example, the Precambrian begins from the formation of the planet to the emergence of the Cambrian (4.6 billion - 541 million years ago). We are living in the Quaternary period, which began more than 2.5 million years ago and continues today. This is the shortest period of time, but it is characterized by such important events as the emergence and development of mankind, for example.
Historical periods are also characteristic of the emergence and development of countries and peoples. What is meant by periodization of history? First of all, this is a conditional division of the historical process into segments that have a certain chronological framework. So, in classical periodization, various periods are distinguished: prehistoric and ancient, medieval, and so on. You and I live in modern times.
In other sciences
- What is a period in mathematics? With respect to a function, this is a value that does not change its value when added. A period in fractional numbers is a repeated group of certain numbers in the system of writing infinite fractions.
- In physics, the oscillation period is the minimum time period for which a full cycle of oscillations is carried out (a device thatproducing a repeated signal deviates from its original position and then returns to it).
- In accounting, the reporting period is a period of time associated with the activities of the company - the purchase and sale of products, their production, the provision of services - used in reporting.
- In chemistry, the period of the Mendeleev system is a string that combines elements with the same number of electron shells.
- In sports, a period in a game is one of the three parts of a match in ice hockey or beach soccer.
- What is a period musically? It is the smallest of the complete compositional structures expressing a complete musical thought.
