A millisecond (from '' milli-'' and second; symbol: ms) is a unit of

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one thousandth (0.001 or 10⁻³ or ¹/₁₀₀₀) of a second and to 1000 microseconds. 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

s, this page lists times between 10⁻³ seconds and 10⁰ seconds (1 millisecond 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) – cycle time for frequency 1 kHz; duration of light for typical photo 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 ...

wave to travel about 34 cm; repetition interval of GPS 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 1550nm (frequency : 193 THz). *1.000692286 milliseconds – time taken for

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 te ...

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 for a modern Formula One car 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 is believed to have evolved in the Cenozoic Era, possibly in the Middle East, and has spread all over the world as a commensal of humans. It is the most common f ...

's wing flap. Also the normative speed of sound (an issue in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

) *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 and data transfer time (or rate). Access time The ''acce ...

for a 10,000 rpm hard disk *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 Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosmop ...

's wing flap *5 milliseconds to 80 milliseconds – a hummingbird's wing flap *8 milliseconds – 1/125 of a second, a standard

camera A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...

shutter speed (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 at 60 BPM *16.67 milliseconds (1/60 second) – a third, cycle time for American 60 Hz AC

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

(mains grid) *16.68 milliseconds (1/59.94 second) – the amount of time one field 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. The interlaced signal contains two fields of a video frame captured consecutively. Thi ...

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

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

an 50 Hz AC electricity *31.25 milliseconds – a hundred twenty-eighth note at 60 BPM *33.367 milliseconds – the amount of time one frame lasts in 29.97 fps video (most common for NTSC-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; with a 7-speed single-clutch automated manual transmission *50 milliseconds – cycle time for the lowest audible tone, 20 Hz *60 milliseconds – cycle time for European 16.7 Hz AC electrified

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

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

broadband internet In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...

connection (important for playing online games) *100 milliseconds – the time interval between gear changes on a Ferrari FXX; with a 6-speed single-clutch automated manual transmission *125 milliseconds – a thirty-second note 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 harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surf ...

equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can al ...

*150 milliseconds – recommended maximum time delay for

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits 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 efficiently the human voice, into el ...

service *100 - 400 milliseconds – the time for the human eye to blink *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 attribute ...

(normal rotor speed is 324 RPM) *200 milliseconds – the time it takes the human brain to recognize emotion in facial expressions *250 milliseconds – a sixteenth note at 60 BPM *400 milliseconds – time in which the fastest

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

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 t ...

*500 milliseconds – an eighth note at 60 BPM *770 milliseconds – revolution period of a 78 rpm record *860 milliseconds – average human resting heart cycle time *1000 milliseconds – one second; the period of a 1 Hz oscillator *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

References

External links

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
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