A millisecond (from ''

milli- ''Milli'' (symbol m) is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of one thousandth (10−3). Proposed in 1793, and adopted in 1795, the prefix comes from the Latin , meaning ''one thousand'' (the Latin plural is ). Since 1960, the pre ...

'' and

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

; symbol: ms) is a unit of

time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

in the

International System of Units The International System of Units, internationally known by the abbreviation SI (from French ), is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. It is the only system of measurement with official s ...

equal to one thousandth (0.001 or 10⁻³ or ¹/₁₀₀₀) of a

or 1000

microseconds A microsecond is a unit of time in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one millionth (0.000001 or 10−6 or ) of a second. Its symbol is μs, sometimes simplified to us when Unicode is not available. A microsecond is to one second, ...

. A millisecond is to one second, as one second is to approximately 16.67 minutes. A unit of 10 milliseconds may be called a centisecond, and one of 100 milliseconds a decisecond, but these names are rarely used. To help compare

orders of magnitude In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...

of different

s, this page lists times between 10⁻³ seconds and 10⁰ seconds (1

milli ''Milli'' (symbol m) is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of one thousandth (10−3). Proposed in 1793, and adopted in 1795, the prefix comes from the Latin , meaning ''one thousand'' (the Latin plural is ). Since 1960, the pre ...

second and one second). ''See also'' times of other orders of magnitude.

Examples

The

Apollo Guidance Computer The Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) was a digital computer produced for the Apollo program that was installed on board each Apollo command module (CM) and Apollo Lunar Module (LM). The AGC provided computation and electronic interfaces for guidanc ...

used metric units internally, with centiseconds used for time calculation and measurement. *1 millisecond (1 ms) – cycle time for frequency 1

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

; duration of light for typical photo

flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...

strobe; time taken for

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

wave to travel about 34 cm; repetition interval of

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

C/A PN code *1 millisecond – time taken for light to travel 204.19 km in a single mode fiber optic cable for a wavelength of 1550 nm (frequency: 193 THz). *1 millisecond –

nerve conduction velocity In neuroscience, nerve conduction velocity (CV) is the speed at which an electrochemical impulse propagates down a neural pathway. Conduction velocities are affected by a wide array of factors, which include age, sex, and various medical conditio ...

(neuron signal firing) happens on the order of milliseconds *1.000692286 milliseconds – time taken for

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

to travel 300 km in a vacuum *1 to 5 milliseconds – typical response time in LCD computer monitors, especially high-end displays *2 milliseconds –

Shift time Shift time refers to the time interval between gear changes in a transmission. This interval is the time in which power delivery is transferred to the next selected gear, and engine speed is reduced or increased to synchronize the speed of the ...

for a modern

Formula One car A Formula One car or F1 car is a single-seat, open-cockpit, open-wheel racing car, open-wheel formula racing car used to compete in Formula One racing events. It has substantial front and rear wings, large wheels, and a turbocharged engine mid ...

using a ''seamless-shift'' semi-automatic sequential transmission *2.27 milliseconds – cycle time for pitch A440, the most commonly used pitch for tuning musical instruments *3 milliseconds – a

housefly The housefly (''Musca domestica'') is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha. It possibly originated in the Middle East, and Cosmopolitan distribution, spread around the world as a commensal of humans. Adults are gray to black, with four dark, lo ...

's wing flap. Also the normative

speed of sound The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elasticity (solid mechanics), elastic medium. More simply, the speed of sound is how fast vibrations travel. At , the speed of sound in a ...

(an issue in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

) *3.3 milliseconds – normal delay time between initiation and detonation of a C4 explosive charge *4 milliseconds – typical average

seek time Higher performance in hard disk drives comes from devices which have better performance characteristics. These performance characteristics can be grouped into two categories: #Access time, access time and #Data transfer rate, data transfer time (o ...

for a 10,000 rpm

hard disk A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating hard disk drive platter, pla ...

*5 milliseconds – a

honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to mainland Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the ...

's wing flap *5 milliseconds to 80 milliseconds – a

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

's wing flap *8 milliseconds – 1/125 of a second, a standard

camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...

shutter speed In photography, shutter speed or exposure time is the length of time that the film or digital sensor inside the camera is exposed to light (that is, when the camera's shutter (photography), shutter is open) when taking a photograph. The am ...

(125); fastest shifting time of a car's mechanical transmission *10 milliseconds (10 ms) – a jiffy, cycle time for frequency 100 Hz *10.378 milliseconds – rotation period of pulsar B1639+36A *15.625 milliseconds – a

two hundred fifty-sixth note In music, a two hundred fifty-sixth note, or occasionally demisemihemidemisemiquaver (British), is a note played for of the duration of a whole note. It lasts half as long as a hundred twenty-eighth note and takes up one quarter of the length o ...

at 60 BPM *16.67 milliseconds (1/60 second) – a

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

, cycle time for

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

60 Hz AC

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

(mains grid) *16.68 milliseconds (1/59.94 second) – the amount of time one

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

lasts in 29.97 fps

interlaced video Interlaced video (also known as interlaced scan) is a technique for doubling the perceived frame rate of a video display without consuming extra Bandwidth (signal processing), bandwidth. The interlaced signal contains two field (video), fields ...

(commonly erroneously referred to as 30 fps) *20 milliseconds – cycle time for

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an 50 Hz AC electricity *31.25 milliseconds – a

hundred twenty-eighth note In music, a hundred twenty-eighth note (North American) or semihemidemisemiquaver or quasihemidemisemiquaver (British) is a note played for of the duration of a whole note. It lasts half as long as a sixty-fourth note. It has a total of five ...

at 60 BPM *33.367 milliseconds – the amount of time one frame lasts in 29.97 fps video (most common for

NTSC NTSC (from National Television System Committee) is the first American standard for analog television, published and adopted in 1941. In 1961, it was assigned the designation System M. It is also known as EIA standard 170. In 1953, a second ...

-legacy formats) *41.667 milliseconds – the amount of time one frame lasts in 24 fps video (most common cinematic frame rate) *41.708 milliseconds – the amount of time one frame lasts in 23.976 fps video (cinematic frame rate for NTSC-legacy formats) *50 milliseconds – the time interval between gear changes on a

Lamborghini Aventador The Lamborghini Aventador () is a mid-engine, two passenger sports car manufactured and marketed by Lamborghini from 2011 until 2022. Named after a prominent Spanish fighting bull that fought in Zaragoza, Aragón, in 1993, the Aventador suc ...

; with a 7-speed single-clutch

automated manual transmission The automated manual transmission (AMT) is a type of transmission (mechanics), transmission for motor vehicles. It is essentially a conventional manual transmission equipped with automatic actuation to operate the clutch and/or shift Gear train ...

*50 milliseconds – cycle time for the lowest audible tone, 20 Hz *60 milliseconds – cycle time for European 16.7 Hz AC

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

power grid ''Power Grid'' is the English-language version of the second edition of the multiplayer German-style board game ''Funkenschlag'', designed by Friedemann Friese and first released in 2004. ''Power Grid'' was released by Rio Grande Games. I ...

*60 milliseconds – the time interval between gear changes on a Ferrari 458 Spider; with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission *62.5 milliseconds – a

sixty-fourth note In music notation, a sixty-fourth note (North American), or hemidemisemiquaver or semidemisemiquaver (British), sometimes called a half-thirty-second note, is a Musical note, note played for half the duration of a thirty-second note (or demisemiqua ...

at 60 BPM *5 to 80 milliseconds – typical latency for a

broadband internet In telecommunications, broadband or high speed is the wide- bandwidth data transmission that exploits signals at a wide spread of frequencies or several different simultaneous frequencies, and is used in fast Internet access. The transmission m ...

connection (important for playing

online game An online game is a video game that is either partially or primarily played through the Internet or any other computer network available. Online games are ubiquitous on modern gaming platforms, including PCs, consoles and mobile devices, a ...

s) *100 milliseconds – the time interval between gear changes on a

Ferrari FXX The Ferrari Enzo (Type F140), officially marketed as Enzo Ferrari, is a mid-engine sports car manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari and named after the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari. It was developed in 2002 using Formula ...

; with a 6-speed single-clutch automated manual transmission *125 milliseconds – a

thirty-second note In music, a thirty-second note (American) or demisemiquaver (British) is a note played for of the duration of a whole note (or ''semibreve''). It lasts half as long as a sixteenth note (or ''semiquaver'') and twice as long as a sixty- ...

at 60 BPM *134 milliseconds – time taken by

to travel around the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

*150 milliseconds – recommended maximum time delay for

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

service *100–400 milliseconds – the time for the

human eye The human eye is a sensory organ in the visual system that reacts to light, visible light allowing eyesight. Other functions include maintaining the circadian rhythm, and Balance (ability), keeping balance. The eye can be considered as a living ...

blink Blinking is a bodily function; it is a semi-autonomic rapid closing of the eyelid. A single blink is determined by the forceful closing of the eyelid or inactivation of the levator palpebrae superioris and the activation of the palpebral por ...

*185 milliseconds – the duration of a full rotation of the main rotor on Bell 205, 212, and 412

helicopters A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

(normal rotor speed is 324 RPM) *200 milliseconds – the time it takes the human brain to recognize emotion in

facial expression Facial expression is the motion and positioning of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. These movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers and are a form of nonverbal communication. They are a primary means of conveying ...

s *250 milliseconds – a

sixteenth note Figure 1. A 16th note with stem facing up, a 16th note with stem facing down, and a 16th rest. Figure 2. Four 16th notes beamed together. In music, a 1/16, sixteenth note ( American) or semiquaver (British) is a note played for half the d ...

at 60 BPM *400 milliseconds – time in which the fastest

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitches reach the strike zone *430 to 500 milliseconds – common modern dance music tempos (120–140 BPM) *495 milliseconds – an approximate average of the round trip time for communications via

geosynchronous satellites A geosynchronous satellite is a satellite in geosynchronous orbit, with an orbital period the same as the Earth's rotation period. Such a satellite returns to the same position in the sky after each sidereal day, and over the course of a day tra ...

*500 milliseconds – an

eighth note 180px, Figure 1. An eighth note with stem extending up, an eighth note with stem extending down, and an eighth rest. 180px, Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together. An eighth note ( American) or a quaver ( British) is a musical note pla ...

at 60 BPM *770 milliseconds – revolution period of a

78 rpm record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The gr ...

*860 milliseconds – average human resting heart cycle time *1000 milliseconds – one

; the period of a 1 Hz

oscillator Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...

*86,400,000 (24 × 60 × 60 × 1000) milliseconds – one day *604,800,000 (24 × 60 × 60 × 1000 × 7) milliseconds – one week *31,556,925,974.7 (86,400,000 × approximately 365.242) milliseconds – one year *31,556,908,800... or (31,556,925,974.7 × approximately 10) milliseconds – one decade

References

External links

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
{{DEFAULTSORT:1 E-1 S Orders of magnitude (time) de:Sekunde#Abgeleitete Maßeinheiten