Okay, so you know how sometimes people need to know when something happened? That's what a time stamp is for. It's like a time stamp on a picture - it tells you exactly when the picture was taken.
Now, imagine you have important papers that you need to sign, but you're not in the same place as the person who needs to see the papers. How do you prove that you signed them at the right time? That's where a time stamp protocol comes in.
Basically, a time stamp protocol is a way to make sure that people can trust when something happened, even if they weren't there to see it. It works like this:
1. You sign the papers and create a special code called a "hash" that represents the papers.
2. The hash is sent to a special website or company that provides time stamping services.
3. The website or company puts a special time stamp on the hash, which proves that the papers were signed at that exact moment.
4. The time-stamped hash is sent back to you, and you can send it to the person who needs to see the papers. They'll know that they were signed at the right time, because the time stamp proves it.
So, a time stamp protocol is just a way to make sure that people can trust when things happened, even if they weren't there to see it. It's kind of like a time machine, but for paperwork!