Millisecond

Key takeaways

Millisecond belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Millisecond to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Millisecond from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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 10−3 or 1/1000) 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 10−3 seconds and 100 seconds (1 millisecond and one second). See also times of other orders of magnitude. See also: Other orders of magnitude of time.

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 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 1550 nm (frequency: 193 THz). 1 millisecond – nerve conduction velocity (neuron signal firing) happens on the order of milliseconds 1.000692286 milliseconds – time taken for light 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'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; 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 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 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 light to travel around the Earth's equator 150 milliseconds – recommended maximum time delay for telephone 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 (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 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 × 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

See also International System of Units Second Microsecond Nanosecond Picosecond Femtosecond Attosecond

References

External links

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Millisecond

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Millisecond claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Millisecond before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Millisecond ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Millisecond

In research: Millisecond appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Millisecond in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Millisecond is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Orders of magnitude (time), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Millisecond outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Millisecond in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Millisecond means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Millisecond out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Millisecond in simple terms?

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 10−3 or 1/1000) of a second or 1000 microseconds. A millisecond is to one second, as one second is to approximately 16.67 minutes.

Why does Millisecond matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Millisecond?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Millisecond.