A millisecond (from milli- and second; symbol: ms) is a unit of time in the International System of Units equal to one thousandth (0.001 or 10<sup>âÂÂ3</sup> or <sup>1</sup>/<sub>1000</sub>) of a second or 1000 microseconds.
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 of different times, this page lists times between 10<sup>−3</sup> seconds and 10<sup>0</sup> seconds (1 milli<nowiki>second</nowiki> and one second). See also times of other orders of magnitude.
Examples
The Apollo Guidance Computer used metric units internally, with centiseconds used for time calculation and measurement.
- 1 millisecond (1 ms) â cycle time for frequency 1 kHz; duration of light for typical photo flash strobe; time taken for sound wave to travel about 34 cm; repetition interval of GPS C/A PN code
- 1 millisecond â 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 â nerve conduction velocity (neuron signal firing) happens on the order of milliseconds
- 1.000692286 milliseconds â time taken for light to travel 300 km in a vacuum
- 1 to 5 milliseconds â typical response time in LCD computer monitors, especially high-end displays
- 2 milliseconds â Shift time for a modern Formula One car using a seamless-shift semi-automatic sequential transmission
- 2.27 milliseconds â cycle time for pitch A440, the most commonly used pitch for tuning musical instruments
- 3 milliseconds â a housefly's wing flap
- 3.3 milliseconds â normal delay time between initiation and detonation of a C4 explosive charge
- 4 milliseconds â typical average seek time for a 10,000 rpm hard disk
- 5 milliseconds â a honey bee's wing flap
- 5 milliseconds to 80 milliseconds â a hummingbird's wing flap
- 8 milliseconds â 1/125 of a second, a standard camera shutter speed (125); fastest shifting time of a car's mechanical transmission
- 10 milliseconds (10 ms) â a jiffy, cycle time for frequency 100 Hz
- 10.378 milliseconds â rotation period of pulsar B1639+36A
- 15.625 milliseconds â a two hundred fifty-sixth note at 60 BPM
- 16.67 milliseconds (1/60 second) â a third, cycle time for American 60 Hz AC electricity (mains grid)
- 16.68 milliseconds (1/59.94 second) â the amount of time one field lasts in 29.97 fps interlaced video (commonly erroneously referred to as 30 fps)
- 20 milliseconds â cycle time for European 50 Hz AC electricity
- 31.25 milliseconds â a hundred twenty-eighth note at 60 BPM
- 33.367 milliseconds â the amount of time one frame lasts in 29.97 fps video (most common for NTSC-legacy formats)
- 41.667 milliseconds â the amount of time one frame lasts in 24 fps video (most common cinematic frame rate)
- 41.708 milliseconds â the amount of time one frame lasts in 23.976 fps video (cinematic frame rate for NTSC-legacy formats)
- 50 milliseconds â the time interval between gear changes on a Lamborghini Aventador; with a 7-speed single-clutch automated manual transmission
- 50 milliseconds â cycle time for the lowest audible tone, 20 Hz
- 60 milliseconds â cycle time for European 16.7 Hz AC electrified railroad power grid
- 60 milliseconds â the time interval between gear changes on a Ferrari 458 Spider; with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
- 62.5 milliseconds â a sixty-fourth note at 60 BPM
- 5 to 80 milliseconds â typical latency for a broadband internet connection (important for playing online games)
- 100 milliseconds â the time interval between gear changes on a Ferrari FXX; with a 6-speed single-clutch automated manual transmission
- 125 milliseconds â a thirty-second note at 60 BPM
- 134 milliseconds â time taken by light to travel around the Earth's equator
- 150 milliseconds â recommended maximum time delay for telephone service
- 100âÂÂ400 milliseconds â the time for the human eye to blink
- 185 milliseconds â the duration of a full rotation of the main rotor on Bell 205, 212, and 412 helicopters (normal rotor speed is 324 RPM)
- 200 milliseconds â the time it takes the human brain to recognize emotion in facial expressions
- 250 milliseconds â a sixteenth note at 60 BPM
- 400 milliseconds â time in which the fastest baseball pitches reach the strike zone
- 430 to 500 milliseconds â common modern dance music tempos (120âÂÂ140 BPM)
- 495 milliseconds â an approximate average of the round trip time for communications via geosynchronous satellites
- 500 milliseconds â an eighth note at 60 BPM
- 770 milliseconds â revolution period of a 78 rpm record
- 860 milliseconds â average human resting heart cycle time
- 1000 milliseconds â one second; the period of a 1 Hz oscillator
- 86,400,000 (24 à60 à60 à1000) milliseconds â one day
- 604,800,000 (24 à60 à60 à1000 à7) milliseconds â one week
- 31,556,925,974.7 (86,400,000 àapproximately 365.242) milliseconds â one year
- 31,556,908,800... or (31,556,925,974.7 àapproximately 10) milliseconds â one decade
See also
References
External links