Millisecond

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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<ref>"Units: M". How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement.</ref><ref>New Oxford Dictionary</ref> 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.<ref>Google nGrams shows them as much less than 0.5% of "millisecond" nGrams comparison of word frequency of centisecond and decisecond vs. millisecond</ref> 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.

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Examples

The Apollo Guidance Computer used metric units internally, with centiseconds used for time calculation and measurement.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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1 millisecond (1 ms) – cycle time for frequency 1 kHz; duration of light for typical photo flash strobe;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> time taken for sound wave to travel about 34 cm; repetition interval of GPS C/A PN code<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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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<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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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<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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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