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Time Converter

Convert between different units of time from nanoseconds to years.

About Time Measurement

The Second

The second (s) is the SI base unit of time. Since 1967, it has been defined based on atomic transitions: one second is the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of radiation corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.

Calendar vs Standard Time

This converter uses standardized time units for simplicity:

  • Month: Assumed to be 30 days (though actual months vary from 28-31 days)
  • Year: Assumed to be 365 days (though a solar year is 365.25 days)

For precise calendar calculations involving specific dates, these variations must be considered. A leap year has 366 days, occurring every 4 years (with some exceptions).

Sub-Second Units

Modern technology requires precise time measurements far smaller than a second:

  • Millisecond (ms): 1/1,000 of a second - human reaction time is ~200 ms
  • Microsecond (μs): 1/1,000,000 of a second - sound travels ~0.34 mm in 1 μs
  • Nanosecond (ns): 1/1,000,000,000 of a second - light travels ~30 cm in 1 ns

Computing Time

In computing, sub-second precision is essential:

  • CPU clock speeds: Measured in GHz (billions of cycles per second)
  • Network latency: Typically measured in milliseconds
  • SSD access time: Measured in microseconds
  • RAM access time: Measured in nanoseconds

Time Zones and UTC

This converter deals with time durations, not time of day. When working with actual times and dates across different locations, time zones become important. Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) serves as the global time standard, with local times expressed as offsets from UTC (e.g., UTC-5, UTC+8).

Common Time Conversions

Conversion Value
1 minute 60 seconds
1 hour 60 minutes = 3,600 seconds
1 day 24 hours = 1,440 minutes = 86,400 seconds
1 week 7 days = 168 hours = 10,080 minutes
1 month (average) 30 days = 720 hours = 2,592,000 seconds
1 year (standard) 365 days = 52.14 weeks = 31,536,000 seconds
1 second 1,000 milliseconds = 1,000,000 microseconds
1 millisecond 1,000 microseconds = 1,000,000 nanoseconds

Quick Reference Cards

Sub-Second Units
1 s = 1,000 ms
1 ms = 1,000 μs
1 μs = 1,000 ns
Powers of 1,000
Minutes & Hours
1 min = 60 s
1 h = 60 min
1 h = 3,600 s
Time of day units
Days & Weeks
1 d = 24 h
1 w = 7 d
1 d = 86,400 s
Calendar units
Months & Years
1 mo ≈ 30 d
1 y = 365 d
1 y ≈ 52.14 w
Approximate values

Reference Durations

Blink of an Eye
~100-400 ms
~0.1-0.4 s
Typical human blink
Heartbeat
~1 second
~1,000 ms
At 60 beats per minute
Human Reaction Time
~200-250 ms
~0.2-0.25 s
Visual stimulus response
Movie Length
~2 hours
~120 minutes
Typical feature film
Work Week
40 hours
5 days
Standard full-time
Pregnancy
~40 weeks
~280 days
Full term gestation
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