List
| Unit | Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Planck time unit | 5.39 x 10–44 s | The amount of time light takes to travel one Planck length. This is the shortest time unit possible to understand in physics. All smaller time units have no use in physics. |
| yoctosecond | 10−24 s | |
| jiffy (physics) | ~3 × 10−24s | The amount of time light takes to travel one fermi (about the size of a nucleon) in a vacuum. |
| zeptosecond | 10−21 s | |
| attosecond | 10−18 s | shortest time now measurable |
| femtosecond | 10−15 s | pulse time on fastest lasers |
| picosecond | 10−12 s | |
| nanosecond | 10−9 s | time for molecules to fluoresce |
| shake | 10 nanoseconds | Also a casual term for a short period of time |
| microsecond | 10−6 s | |
| millisecond | 0.001 s | |
| centisecond | 0.01 s | |
| decisecond | 0.1 s | |
| jiffy (electronics) | ~1/50s to 1/60s | Used to measure the time between alternating power cycles. Also a casual term for a short period of time |
| second | 1 s | SI base unit |
| dekasecond | 10 seconds | |
| minute | 60 seconds | |
| moment | 90 seconds | medieval unit of time |
| hectosecond | 100 seconds | 1 minute and 40 seconds |
| ke | ~15 minutes | |
| kilosecond | 1,000 seconds | 16 minutes and 40 seconds |
| hour | 60 minutes | |
| day | 24 hours | |
| week | 7 days | Also called sennight |
| megasecond | 1 million seconds | About 11.6 days |
| fortnight | 14 days | 2 weeks |
| lunar month | 27.2–29.5 days | Various definitions of lunar month exist. |
| month | 28–31 days | |
| quarter | 3 months | Also called season |
| year | 12 months | |
| common year | 365 days | 52 weeks + 1 day |
| tropical year | 365.24219 days | average |
| Gregorian year | 365.2425 days | average |
| sidereal year | 365.256363004 days | |
| leap year | 366 days | 52 weeks + 2 days |
| biennium | 2 years | A unit of time commonly used by legislatures |
| triennium | 3 years | |
| Olympiad | 4 year cycle | |
| lustrum | 5 years | Also called pentad |
| decade | 10 years | |
| Indiction | 15 year cycle | |
| generation | 17–35 years | approximate |
| gigasecond | 1 billion seconds | About 31.7 years |
| jubilee (Biblical) | 50 years | |
| century | 100 years | |
| millennium | 1,000 years | |
| terasecond | 1 trillion seconds | About 31,700 years |
| megaanum | 1 million years | |
| petasecond | 1 quadrillion seconds | About 31.7 million years |
| galactic year | Approximately 230 million years | The amount of time it takes the Solar System to orbit the center of the Milky Way Galaxy one time. |
| gigaanum | 1 billion years | |
| exasecond | 1 quintillion seconds | |
| teraanum | 1 trillion years | |
| zettasecond | 1 sextillion seconds | About 31.7 trillion years |
| petaanum | 1 quadrillion years | |
| yottasecond | 1 septillion seconds | About 31.7 quadrillion years |
| exaanum | 1 quintillion years | |
| zettaanum | 1 sextillion years | |
| yottaanum | 1 septillion years | |
| cosmological decade | varies |
Read more about this topic: Unit Of Time
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