Millisecond

A millisecond (from milli- and second; symbol: ms) is a thousandth (0.001 or 10⁻³ or ¹/₁₀₀₀) of a second.^[1]^[2]

10 milliseconds (a hundredth of a second, 10⁻²) are called a centisecond.

100 milliseconds (one tenth of a second, 10⁻¹) are called a decisecond.

Horizontal logarithmic scale marked with units of time

To help compare orders of magnitude of different times, 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

1 millisecond (1 ms) – cycle time for frequency 1 kHz; duration of light for typical photo flash strobe; time taken for sound wave to travel ca. 34 cm; repetition interval of GPS C/A PN code
1.000692286 milliseconds – time taken for light to travel 300 km in a vacuum
2 milliseconds to 5 milliseconds – typical response time in LCD computer monitors, especially high-end displays
2.27 milliseconds – cycle time for A440 (pitch standard), the most commonly used pitch for tuning musical instruments
3 milliseconds – a housefly's wing flap
3.3 milliseconds – normal delay time between initiation and detonation of a C4 explosive charge
4 milliseconds – typical average seek time for a 10,000 rpm hard disk
5 milliseconds – a honey bee's wing flap
5 milliseconds to 80 milliseconds – a hummingbird's wing flap
8 milliseconds – 1/125 of a second, a standard camera 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 (mains grid)
16.68 milliseconds (1/59.94 second) – the amount of time one field lasts in 29.97 fps interlaced video (commonly erroneously referred to as 30 fps)
20 milliseconds – cycle time for European 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
50 milliseconds – cycle time for the lowest audible tone, 20 Hz
60 milliseconds – cycle time for European 16.7 Hz AC electrified railroad power grid
60 milliseconds – the time interval between gear changes on a Ferrari 458 Spider
62.5 milliseconds – a sixty-fourth note at 60 BPM
5 to 80 milliseconds – typical latency for a broadband internet connection (important for playing online games)
100 milliseconds – the time interval between gear changes on a Ferrari FXX
125 milliseconds – a thirty-second note at 60 BPM
134 milliseconds – time taken by light to travel around the Earth's equator
150 milliseconds – recommended maximum time delay for telephone service
185 milliseconds – 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 – the time it takes the human brain to recognize emotion in facial expressions
250 milliseconds – a sixteenth note at 60 BPM
300 to 400 milliseconds – the time for the human eye to blink
400 milliseconds – time in which the fastest baseball 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
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 x 60 x 60 x 1000 x 7) milliseconds – one week
31,556,908,800 (86,400,000 × 365.242) milliseconds – one year

References

^ "Units: M". How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement.
^ New Oxford Dictionary

External links

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

[1] "Units: M". How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement.

[2] New Oxford Dictionary

[1]

[2]

v t e Orders of magnitude of time
by powers of ten
Negative powers	<1 attosecond attosecond femtosecond picosecond nanosecond microsecond millisecond
Positive powers	second kilosecond megasecond gigasecond terasecond and longer