Orders of magnitude (frequency)
Encyclopedia
To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various frequencies
, which is measured in Hertz.
Frequency
Frequency 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...
, which is measured in Hertz.
| Factor (Hz Hertz The 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.... ) |
Multiple | Value | Item |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10−18 | 1 attohertz (aHz) | ~2.29 aHz | The Hubble Constant (once in 13.8 billion years) |
| 10−15 | 1 femtohertz (fHz) | ||
| 10−12 | 1 picohertz (pHz) | ||
| 10−11 | 10 pHz | ~31.71 pHz | Once per millennium |
| 10−10 | 100 pHz | ~317.1 pHz | Once per century |
| 10−9 | 1 nanohertz (nHz) | ~1 nHz | Once per generation |
| ~3.171 nHz | Once per decade | ||
| 10−8 | 10nHz | 11.6699016 nHz | Once in a blue moon Blue moon A blue moon can refer to the third full moon in a season with four full moons. Most years have twelve full moons that occur approximately monthly. In addition to those twelve full lunar cycles, each solar calendar year contains roughly eleven days more than the lunar year of 12 lunations... |
| ~31.71 nHz | Yearly (or Earth's orbital frequency Sidereal year A sidereal year is the time taken by the Earth to orbit the Sun once with respect to the fixed stars. Hence it is also the time taken for the Sun to return to the same position with respect to the fixed stars after apparently travelling once around the ecliptic. It was equal to at noon 1 January... ) |
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| 10−7 | 100 nHz | ~380.5 nHz | Monthly (or the Moon's orbital frequency) |
| ~413 nHz | Average menstrual cycle Menstrual cycle The menstrual cycle is the scientific term for the physiological changes that can occur in fertile women for the purpose of sexual reproduction. This article focuses on the human menstrual cycle.... (28 days) |
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| 10−6 | 1 microhertz (µHz) | ~1.653 µHz | Weekly |
| 10−5 | 10 µHz | ~11.57 µHz | Daily (or Earth's rotation frequency) |
| 10−4 | 100 µHz | ~277.8 µHz | Once per hour |
| 10−3 | 1 millihertz (mHz) | ||
| 10−2 | 1 centihertz (cHz) | ~16.667 mHz | One rpm Revolutions per minute Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis... |
| 10−1 | 1 decihertz (dHz) | ||
| 100 | 1 Hertz | 1 to 1.66 Hz | approximate frequency of an adult human's resting heart beat Heart sounds Heart sounds, or heartbeats, are the noises generated by the beating heart and the resultant flow of blood through it... |
| 1 Hz | 60 bpm, common tempo Tempo In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:... s in music. |
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| 2 Hz | 120 bpm, common tempo Tempo In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:... s in music. |
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| 101 | 1 decahertz (daHz) | 10 Hz | cyclic rate of a typical automobile engine at idle (equivalent to 600 rpm Revolutions per minute Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis... ) |
| 12 Hz | acoustic — the lowest possible frequency that a human can hear | ||
| 27.5 Hz | acoustic — the lowest musical note (A A (musical note) La or A is the sixth note of the solfège. "A" is generally used as a standard for tuning. When the orchestra tunes, the oboe plays an "A" and the rest of the instruments tune to match that pitch. Every string instrument in the orchestra has an A string, from which each player can tune the rest of... ) playable on a normally-tuned standard piano |
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| 50 Hz | electromagnetic Electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object.... — standard AC Alternating current In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction.... mains Mains electricity Mains is the general-purpose alternating current electric power supply. In the US, electric power is referred to by several names including household power, household electricity, powerline, domestic power, wall power, line power, AC power, city power, street power, and grid power... power Electric power Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations... (European AC, Tokyo AC) |
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| 60 Hz | electromagnetic Electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object.... — standard AC Alternating current In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction.... mains Mains electricity Mains is the general-purpose alternating current electric power supply. In the US, electric power is referred to by several names including household power, household electricity, powerline, domestic power, wall power, line power, AC power, city power, street power, and grid power... power Electric power Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations... (American AC, Osaka AC) |
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| 102 | 1 hectohertz (hHz) | 100 Hz | cyclic rate of a typical automobile engine at redline Redline Redline refers to the maximum engine speed at which an internal combustion engine or traction motor and its components are designed to operate without causing damage to the components themselves or other parts of the engine... (equivalent to 6000 rpm) |
| 261.626 Hz | acoustic — the musical note middle C Middle C C or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solfège scale. Its enharmonic is B.-Middle C:Middle C is designated C4 in scientific pitch notation because of the note's position as the fourth C key on a standard 88-key piano keyboard... |
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| 440 Hz | acoustic — concert pitch Pitch (music) Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,... (A A (musical note) La or A is the sixth note of the solfège. "A" is generally used as a standard for tuning. When the orchestra tunes, the oboe plays an "A" and the rest of the instruments tune to match that pitch. Every string instrument in the orchestra has an A string, from which each player can tune the rest of... above middle C), used for tuning musical instruments |
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| 103 | 1 kilohertz (kHz) | 4.186 kHz | acoustic — the highest musical note (C8 C (musical note) C or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solfège scale. Its enharmonic is B.-Middle C:Middle C is designated C4 in scientific pitch notation because of the note's position as the fourth C key on a standard 88-key piano keyboard... ) playable on a normally-tuned standard piano |
| 8 kHz | ISDN sampling rate | ||
| 104 | 10 kHz | 14 kHz | acoustic — the upper limit of human hearing |
| 17.4 kHz | acoustic — a frequency known as The Mosquito The Mosquito The Mosquito or Mosquito alarm is an electronic device, used to deter loitering by young people, which emits a sound with a very high frequency... , which is generally only audible to those under the age of 24. |
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| 105 | 100 kHz | 740 kHz | the clock speed of the world's first commercial microprocessor Microprocessor A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and... , the Intel 4004 Intel 4004 The Intel 4004 was a 4-bit central processing unit released by Intel Corporation in 1971. It was the first complete CPU on one chip, and also the first commercially available microprocessor... (1971) |
| 106 | 1 megahertz (MHz) | 530 kHz to 1.710 MHz | electromagnetic — AM radio broadcasts |
| 1 MHz to 8 MHz | clock speeds of early home Home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user... /personal computer Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator... s (mid-1970s to mid-1980s) |
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| 107 | 10 MHz | 13.56 MHz | electromagnetic — Near field communication Near Field Communication Near field communication, or NFC, allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and wireless connections between two devices in proximity to each other, usually by no more than a few centimeters. It is expected to become a widely used system for making payments by smartphone in the United States... |
| 108 | 100 MHz | 88 MHz to 108 MHz | electromagnetic — FM radio broadcasts |
| 902 to 928 MHz | electromagnetic Electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object.... — common cordless telephone frequency in the US |
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| 109 | 1 gigahertz (GHz) | 1.42 GHz | electromagnetic Electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object.... — the hyperfine Hyperfine structure The term hyperfine structure refers to a collection of different effects leading to small shifts and splittings in the energy levels of atoms, molecules and ions. The name is a reference to the fine structure which results from the interaction between the magnetic moments associated with electron... transition of hydrogen, also known as the hydrogen line Hydrogen line The hydrogen line, 21 centimeter line or HI line refers to the electromagnetic radiation spectral line that is created by a change in the energy state of neutral hydrogen atoms. This electromagnetic radiation is at the precise frequency of 1420.40575177 MHz, which is equivalent to the vacuum... or 21 cm line |
| 2.4 GHz | electromagnetic Electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object.... — microwave oven Microwave oven A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food... s, Wireless LAN Wireless LAN A wireless local area network links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method , and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network... s and cordless phones (starting in 1998). |
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| 3.8 GHz | highest clock speed Pentium 4 "Prescott" microprocessor (2005) | ||
| 5.8 GHz | electromagnetic Electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object.... — cordless phone frequency introduced in 2003 |
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| 1010 | 10 GHz | 3 GHz to 30 GHz | electromagnetic Electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object.... — super high frequency Super high frequency Super high frequency refers to radio frequencies in the range of 3 GHz and 30 GHz. This band of frequencies is also known as the centimetre band or centimetre wave as the wavelengths range from ten to one centimetres.... |
| 1011 | 100 GHz | 160.2 GHz | electromagnetic Electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object.... — peak of cosmic microwave background radiation Cosmic microwave background radiation In cosmology, cosmic microwave background radiation is thermal radiation filling the observable universe almost uniformly.... |
| 845 GHz | fastest transistor Transistor A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current... (Dec. 2006)http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-157174290.html |
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| 1012 | 1 terahertz THz | ||
| 1013 | 10 THz | 21 THz to 33 THz | electromagnetic Electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object.... — infrared Infrared Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm... light Light Light 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... used in thermal imaging, for example for night vision Night vision Night vision is the ability to see in low light conditions. Whether by biological or technological means, night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches: sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range... |
| 1014 | 100 THz | 428 THz to 750 THz | electromagnetic — visible light Light Light 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... , from red Red Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye... to violet Violet (color) As the name of a color, violet is synonymous with a bluish purple, when the word "purple" is used in the common English language sense of any color between blue and red, not including either blue or red... |
| 1015 | 1 petahertz PHz | 2.47 PHz | electromagnetic Electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object.... — Lyman-alpha line Lyman-alpha line In physics, the Lyman-alpha line, sometimes written as Ly-\alpha line, is a spectral line of hydrogen, or more generally of one-electron ions, in the Lyman series, emitted when the electron falls from the n = 2 orbital to the n = 1 orbital, where n is the principal quantum number... |
| 1016 | 10 PHz | 30 PHz | electromagnetic Electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object.... — x-rays |
| 1017 | 100 PHz | ||
| 1018 | 1 exahertz EHz | ||
| 1019 | 10 EHz | ||
| 1020 | 100 EHz | 300 EHz + | electromagnetic Electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object.... — gamma ray Gamma ray Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei... s |
- 262 Hz - The Frequency of Heat that Causes Uranium to Fission
- 1.85 Hz - Planck frequency, the inverse of the Planck timePlanck timeIn physics, the Planck time, , is the unit of time in the system of natural units known as Planck units. It is the time required for light to travel, in a vacuum, a distance of 1 Planck length...