The SECOND function is a date and time function which returns the number from 0 to 59 representing the seconds portion of a time value.

This is the format of the SECOND function:

=SECOND(TIME VALUE)

Here is an example of the SECOND function:

=SECOND(43335.1215) = 58

This function is valuable when you are timing duration of short tasks and want to precisely track the cumulative value of their results. These types of previsions are too generic for scientific purposes, but are accurate enough for most business use cases, especially when dealing with transactions and time codes that are time sensitive in nature.

An example of a functional implementation of this would be tracking historical buy and sell orders you have placed. As the prices can fluctuate minute by minute it is important to keep a detailed historical record of these orders. While most systems allow the tracking of this, keeping an offline copy for your own records can allow for better post-decision analysis.

ex: all timestamps are located in column C

=SECOND(C2)