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Author Topic: Block creation time out of order?  (Read 1122 times)
ericisback (OP)
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February 06, 2014, 04:24:26 AM
 #1

Hello all.  I am new to bitcoin, and I'm hoping someone can help me understand how the block creation times for certain blocks can be out of order.  Here is block info from blockchain showing several blocks (in sequential order) with non-chronological creation times:

http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu229/ericisback1/2014-02-05_231248.jpg

Here are the same blocks on the blockchain homepage showing the "block's age" younger than the one above it (but the block numbers are in order):

http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu229/ericisback1/2014-02-05_231144.jpg

Can someone tell me how this can happen?  Thanks for any help.
RoadTrain
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February 06, 2014, 04:42:50 AM
 #2

This can happen if pool's clock is desynchronized.
Block timestamp checking in Bitcoin  is somewhat loose.
Sonny
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February 06, 2014, 01:54:59 PM
 #3

FYR: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Block_timestamp

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A timestamp is accepted as valid if it is greater than the median timestamp of previous 11 blocks, and less than the network-adjusted time + 2 hours. "Network-adjusted time" is the median of the timestamps returned by all nodes connected to you.
Rannasha
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February 06, 2014, 03:09:12 PM
 #4

The timestamp of a block is not an accurate measurement. It can vary by several minutes and if blocks are being found close together, this can cause the older block to have a later timestamp than the newer block.

Since each block contains the hash of the block header of the preceding block, there is a mechanism in place that fixes the order of blocks.
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