Nanosecond (ns)
The nanosecond is a unit of time, used for CPU clock cycles, RAM access times, and GPS timing precision. Its symbol is ns.
ns
min
1 nanosecond equals
| Minutes | 1.66667e-11 min |
| Hours | 2.77778e-13 h |
| Seconds | 1e-9 s |
| Days | 1.15741e-14 d |
About the nanosecond
The nanosecond became important in computing; Admiral Grace Hopper famously distributed 11.8-inch wire segments to illustrate the distance light travels in one nanosecond.
In everyday use the nanosecond appears in CPU clock cycles, RAM access times, and GPS timing precision. As a point of reference: a modern CPU executes one clock cycle in about 0.3 nanoseconds.