Suppose some people are on a spaceship and they want to make an accurate clock. At one end they put a mirror, and at the other end they put a simple machine. It shoots one short burst of light toward the mirror and then waits. The light hits the mirror and bounces back. When it hits a light detector on the machine, the machine says, "Count = 1," it simultaneously shoots another short burst of light toward the mirror, and when that light comes back the machine says, "Count = 2." They decide that a certain number of bounces will be defined as a second, and they make the machine change the seconds counter every time it has detected that number of bounces. Every time it changes the seconds counter it also flashes a light out through a porthole under the machine. So somebody outside can see the light flashing every second.