---
title: "Clock: what it means · The AI Compute Race · DRYBURGH"
source: https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/clock
description: "Clock: A word the chapters use for several measures of pace."
---

# Clock

What does “Clock” mean?

ClockA word the chapters use for several measures of pace. The Prologue’s four clocks are how long a lead lasts, how long a rent runs, how long a chip is paid for and how long a permit takes. The others each have an entry: the clocks of diffusion, the capability clock and the adoption clock, the science clock of chapter 3, the lenders’ clock (the rack’s clock, chapter 10’s name for it), the subsidy clock, and the Scorecard’s clocks. *The Prologue; chapters 1, 3, 10, 11, 14; the Scorecard.*

From *The AI Compute Race*. [Read the book](https://dryburgh.com/vol1#buy)

## Where the record uses it

- Campus [Stargate Michigan / The Barn](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/ledger/stargate-michigan-the-barn)
- Campus [Stargate Milam County](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/ledger/stargate-milam-county)
- Campus [HUMAIN Saudi AI-factory program](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/ledger/humain-saudi-ai-factory-program)
- Campus [Stargate Norway](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/ledger/stargate-norway)
- Campus [Stargate UK](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/ledger/stargate-uk)
- Scorecard indicator [Hyperscalers’ Q1 operating cash flow (OCF) / cash capex](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/scorecard#row-21)
- Dated test [Chapter 6, the queue is not a forecast; chapter 14, construction is the binding clock, due 10 December 2026](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/tests#2026-4)

## Also discussed in

- Chapter notes [Chapter 11 — What the Machine Has to Earn](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/notes/chapter-11)
- Chapter notes [Chapter 4 — One Rack](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/notes/chapter-4)

## Related terms

- [Clocks of diffusion](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/clocks-of-diffusion)
- [Scorecard’s clocks](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/scorecard-s-clocks)
- [Capability clock](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/capability-clock)
- [Adoption clock](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/adoption-clock)
- [Lenders’ clock](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/lenders-clock)
- [Subsidy clock](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/subsidy-clock)
- [Four clocks](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/four-clocks)
- [Rack](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/rack)
- [Singularity](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/singularity)
- [Useful life](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/useful-life)

From the glossary of The AI Compute Race.

- [Campuses](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/ledger)
- [Tests](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/tests)
- [Scorecard](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/scorecard)
- [Data](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/data/releases)
- [Chapter by chapter](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/companion)
- [The record at a glance](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/observatory)
- [The machine](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/machine)
- [One campus, four futures](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/hyperion)
- [Glossary](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary)
- [People](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/people)
- [Sources](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/sources)
- [Notes](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/notes)
- [Where the book was wrong](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/corrections)
- [Where its sources were wrong](https://dryburgh.com/corrections?book=vol1)
- [The Paper](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/paper)
- [Consent](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/consent)
- [Who builds and pays](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/parties)

*The AI Compute Race: Five Races, One Machine* is a book by Lee S. Dryburgh, the first volume of THE COMPUTE ECONOMY, published by Dryburgh, an imprint of Contestra OÜ, Tallinn, Estonia; its record closes on 8 November 2026.

[About the book](https://dryburgh.com/vol1)[Tell me when it is out](https://dryburgh.com/vol1#notify)