Microsecond
Encyclopedia
A microsecond is an SI unit of time equal to one millionth
(10−6) of a second
. Its symbol is µs
.
A microsecond is equal to 1000 nanosecond
s or 1/1000 millisecond
. Because the next SI unit is 1000 times larger, measurements of 10−5 and 10−4 seconds are typically expressed as tens or hundreds of microseconds.
Millionth
One millionth is equal to 0.000 001, or 1 x 10-6 in scientific notation. It is the reciprocal of a million, can be also written as 1/1 000 000. Units using this fraction can be indicated using the prefix "micro-" from Greek, meaning "small"...
(10−6) of a second
Second
The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock....
. Its symbol is µs
Mu (letter)
Carlos Alberto Vives Restrepo is a Grammy Award and three-time Latin Grammy Award winning-Colombian singer, composer and actor.-Biography:...
.
A microsecond is equal to 1000 nanosecond
Nanosecond
A nanosecond is one billionth of a second . One nanosecond is to one second as one second is to 31.7 years.The word nanosecond is formed by the prefix nano and the unit second. Its symbol is ns....
s or 1/1000 millisecond
Millisecond
A millisecond is a thousandth of a second.10 milliseconds are called a centisecond....
. Because the next SI unit is 1000 times larger, measurements of 10−5 and 10−4 seconds are typically expressed as tens or hundreds of microseconds.
Examples
- 1 microsecond (1 μsMu (letter)Carlos Alberto Vives Restrepo is a Grammy Award and three-time Latin Grammy Award winning-Colombian singer, composer and actor.-Biography:...
) – cycle time for frequencyFrequencyFrequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
1 x 106 hertzHertzThe hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
(1 MHz), the inverse unit. This corresponds to radio wavelength 3001 E2 mTo compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 100 metres and 1000 metres .Distances shorter than 100 metres-Conversions:100 metres is equal to:* 328 feet...
mMetreThe metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology...
(AM mediumwaveMediumwaveMedium wave is the part of the medium frequency radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. For Europe the MW band ranges from 526.5 kHz to 1606.5 kHz...
band), as can be calculated by multiplying 1 µs by the speed of lightSpeed of lightThe speed of light in vacuum, usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time...
(approximately 3×108 m/s) to determine the distance travelled. - 1 microsecond – the length of time of a high-speed, commercial strobe lightStrobe lightA strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope...
flash. - 1.8 microseconds - the amount of time subtracted from the Earth's dayDayA day is a unit of time, commonly defined as an interval equal to 24 hours. It also can mean that portion of the full day during which a location is illuminated by the light of the sun...
as a result of the 2011 Japanese earthquake. - 2 microseconds – the lifetime of a muoniumMuoniumMuonium is an exotic atom made up of an antimuon and an electron, which was discovered in 1960 and is given the chemical symbol . During the muon's lifetime, muonium can enter into compounds such as muonium chloride or sodium muonide . Due to the mass difference between the antimuon and the...
particle - 2.68 microseconds – the amount of time subtracted from the Earth's day as a result of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
. - 3.33564095 microseconds – the time taken by lightLightLight or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
to travel one kilometer in a vacuum - 4.63 microseconds – a fifth (a 60th of a 60th of a 60th of a second)
- 5.4 microseconds – the time taken by light to travel one mileMileA mile is a unit of length, most commonly 5,280 feet . The mile of 5,280 feet is sometimes called the statute mile or land mile to distinguish it from the nautical mile...
in a vacuumVacuumIn everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in... - 10 microseconds (μs) – cycle time for frequency 100 kHz, radio wavelength 31 E3 mTo help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 1 kilometre and 10 kilometres .Distances shorter than 1 kilometre-Conversions:1 kilometre is equal to:* 1,000 metres...
kmKilometreThe kilometre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres and is therefore exactly equal to the distance travelled by light in free space in of a second... - 17 microseconds: net amount per year that the length of the day lengthens, largely due to tidal accelerationTidal accelerationTidal acceleration is an effect of the tidal forces between an orbiting natural satellite , and the primary planet that it orbits . The "acceleration" is usually negative, as it causes a gradual slowing and recession of a satellite in a prograde orbit away from the primary, and a corresponding...
. - 20.8 microseconds – sampling interval for digital audio with 48000 samples/s
- 22.7 microseconds – sampling interval for CDCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
audio (44100 samples/s) - 38 microseconds – discrepancy in GPS satelliteSatelliteIn the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
time per day (compensated by clock speed) due to relativityGeneral relativityGeneral relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics... - 50 microseconds – cycle time for highest human-audibleHearing (sense)Hearing is the ability to perceive sound by detecting vibrations through an organ such as the ear. It is one of the traditional five senses...
tone (20 kHz) - 100 microseconds (0.1 ms) – cycle time for frequency 10 kHz
- 125 microseconds – sampling interval for telephone audio (8000 samples/s)
- 240 microseconds – half-lifeHalf-lifeHalf-life, abbreviated t½, is the period of time it takes for the amount of a substance undergoing decay to decrease by half. The name was originally used to describe a characteristic of unstable atoms , but it may apply to any quantity which follows a set-rate decay.The original term, dating to...
of copernicium-277 - 250 microseconds – cycle time for highest tone in telephoneTelephoneThe telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
audio (4 kHz) - 277.8 microseconds - a fourth (a 60th of a 60th of a second), used in astronomical calculations by al-BiruniAl-BiruniAbū al-Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-BīrūnīArabic spelling. . The intermediate form Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī is often used in academic literature...
and Roger BaconRoger BaconRoger Bacon, O.F.M. , also known as Doctor Mirabilis , was an English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empirical methods...
in 1000 and 1267 AD, respectively.
For reference
- The average human eye blinkBlinkBlinking is the rapid closing and opening of the eyelid. It is an essential function of the eye that helps spread tears across and remove irritants from the surface of the cornea and conjunctiva. Blink speed can be affected by elements such as fatigue, eye injury, medication, and disease...
takes 350,000 microseconds. - A camera flash illuminates for 1,000 microseconds.
- Standard camera shutter speedShutter speedIn photography, shutter speed is a common term used to discuss exposure time, the effective length of time a camera's shutter is open....
opens the shutter for 4,000 microseconds or 4 milliseconds.