{{short description|One thousandth of a second}} {{Infobox unit | name = millisecond | image = | caption = | symbol = ms | standard = SI | quantity = time | units1 = SI units | inunits1 = {{val|0.001|ul=s}} }}
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>−3</sup> or <sup>1</sup>/<sub>1000</sub>) of a second<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180706151550/http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictM.html "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" [https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=decisecond%2Fmillisecond%2Ccentisecond%2Fmillisecond&year_start=1950&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=10 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<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.
{{xref|See also: Other orders of magnitude of time.}}
{{Clear}} {{wide image|Logarithmic time scale - milliseconds to years.svg|1200px|Horizontal logarithmic scale marked with units of time}}
==Examples== The Apollo Guidance Computer used metric units internally, with centiseconds used for time calculation and measurement.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-10-18|title=The Moon landings|url=https://ukma.org.uk/why-metric/myths/metric-internationally/the-moon-landings/|access-date=2021-03-03|website=UK Metric Association|language=en}}</ref>
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2025}} *1 millisecond (1 ms) – cycle time for frequency 1 kHz; duration of light for typical photo flash strobe;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ovchar |first=Illya |date=2022-04-16 |title=What Is Flash Duration in Photography? |url=https://petapixel.com/what-is-flash-duration/ |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=PetaPixel |language=en}}</ref> time taken for sound wave to travel about 34 cm; repetition interval of GPS C/A PN code<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Van Sickle |first1=Jan |last2=A. Dutton |first2=John |title=The C/A Code |url=https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog862/node/1742 |access-date=25 February 2025 |website=PennState College of Earth and Mineral Sciences}}</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>{{Cite web|url=http://www.formula1-dictionary.net/seamless_gearbox.html#:~:text=Bear%20in%20mind%20that%20modern,shift%20in%202%20%2D%203%20milliseconds.|title=Seamless Gearbox}}</ref> *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>{{Cite web |date=2005-11-29 |title=Deciphering the Mystery of Bee Flight |url=https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/deciphering-mystery-bee-flight-1075 |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=California Institute of Technology |language=en}}</ref> *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>{{Cite journal |last=R. Lorimer |first=Duncan |date=18 June 2001 |title=Binary and Millisecond Pulsars at the New Millennium |journal=Living Reviews in Relativity |volume=4 |issue=1 |page=5 |doi=10.12942/lrr-2001-5 |doi-access=free |pmid=28179858 |pmc=5256072 |arxiv=astro-ph/0104388 |bibcode=2001LRR.....4....5L }}</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>{{cite web|url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2005/jul/blink-and-you-miss-it|title=Blink and you miss it|date=2005-08-03}}</ref> *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== {{reflist}}
== External links == {{wiktionary|millisecond}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20101204234650/http://tf.nist.gov/timefreq/general/enc-m.htm The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)]
{{Orders of magnitude seconds}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1 E-1 S}} Category:Orders of magnitude (time)