Magnitude (time)

This is a compilation of times of various orders of magnitude for comparison purposes. The information is often to be understood as “typical values”; the converted values ​​are rounded.

The basic unit of time in the international system of units is 1  second ( unit symbol s ), the formula symbol t .

Further units used below:

• 1 min = 60 s ( minute )
• 1 h = 3600 s ( hour )
• 1 d = 86,400 s ( day )
• 1 a = 365.2425 d = 31,556,952 s ( year )

See also : Unit prefixes  and Scientific notation

Times shorter than 10 ⁻⁶ s (1 µs)

• 5.4 · 10 ⁻⁴⁴ s - Planck time . At times of this magnitude the range of validity of the established physical theories ends . Some extensions assume that time is quantized on this scale .
• 2 · 10 ⁻²² s - half-life of the isotope nitrogen -10
• approx. 1 as (1 · 10 ⁻¹⁸ s) - smallest currently measurable time interval
• 67 as (6.7 · 10 ⁻¹⁷ s) - shortest electromagnetic impulses generated so far by means of an attosecond laser
• 1.3 to 2.5 fs (around 2 · 10 ⁻¹⁵ s) - period of visible light
• 200 fs (2 · 10 ⁻¹³ s) - fastest chemical reactions , e.g. reaction of the pigments in the eye to light
• 333 ps (3.33 · 10 ⁻¹⁰ s) - clock time for a processor with 3 GHz clock frequency

10 ⁻⁶ s to 10 ⁻³ s (1 µs to 1 ms)

• 1 µs - flash duration of a standard high-speed stroboscope
• 2.2 µs - lifetime of muons
• 22.7 µs - sampling interval for digital sound recordings in CD quality ( sampling rate 44.1 kHz)
• 33 µs - period of the highest audible tone (frequency 30 kHz)
• 125 µs - sampling interval for sound recordings in telephone quality (sampling rate 8 kHz)
• 400 µs - duration of the main discharge of a lightning bolt

10 ⁻³ s (1 ms) to 1 s

• 1 ms - typical flash duration for photo flash units
• 2.27 ms - period of the concert pitch (a ') in music (440 Hz)
• 3 ms - wing flap of a house fly (approx. 300 Hz)
• 5 ms - flapping wings of a honey bee
• 8 ms - shutter speed of a camera with setting "125" (1/125 second)
• 16.67 ms - tertie , sixtieth part of a second (obsolete unit)
• 20 ms - period of 50 Hz AC voltage in European power grids
• 33 ms - period of the lowest audible tone (frequency 30 Hz)
• approx. 40 ms - airbag deployment in the vehicle after activation signal (accident)
• approx. 100 ms - the blink of an eye ; human response time
• 128 ms - period of an electromagnetic standing wave that runs around the earth (see Schumann resonance )
• approx. 200–670 ms - a beat in contemporary dance music

1 s to 10 s

• 1 s = 1 second = 1/60 minute
• 1 s - heartbeat (average heart rate of adults at rest)
• 1.26 s - transit time of light between the earth and the moon
• 3.156 s (approximately " pi s") - a "nano century" or the 10 ^7th part of a year (popular rule of thumb for approximate conversion of times between seconds and years)
• approx. 5 s - duration of a typical adult breath
• 9.58 s - world record in the men's 100-meter run (as of March 2014)

10 s to 100 s

• 10.49 s - world record in the 100-meter run for women (as of March 2014)
• about 30 seconds - the average length of a TV - commercials
• 60 s = 1 minute (1 min)

100 s to 10 ³ s (16.67 min)

• 180 s = 3 min - cooking time for typical finished pasta products
• 420 s = 7 min - “Al dente” cooking time for durum wheat pasta
• approx. 500 s = 8 min 20 s - transit time of light between sun and earth
• 881 s - mean lifetime of a free neutron

10 ³ s to 10 ⁴ s (16.67 min to 2.778 h)

• approx. 43.3 min - transit time of light between the sun and Jupiter
• 45 min - time of a school lesson in Germany
• 50 min - time of a school lesson in Austria
• 60 min = 1 hour (1 h)
• approx. 80 min - transit time of light between the sun and Saturn
• approx. 90 min - orbital time of space stations
• approx. 160 min - transit time of light between the sun and Uranus

10 ⁴ s to 10 ⁵ s (2.778 h to 27.78 h)

• approx. 4.17 h - transit time of light between the sun and Neptune
• approx. 6.77 h - transit time of light between the sun and Pluto
• 8 h - typical working hours in western countries; typical daily sleep requirement of adults
• 23 h 56 min 4 s - duration of one revolution of the earth around its own axis
• 24 h = 1 day (1 day )

10 ⁵ s to 10 ⁶ s (27.78 h to 11.6 d)

• 3.824 d - half-life of the isotope radon -222 ( radon exposure )
• 5 d - a working week in western countries
• approx. 5.29 d - transit time of light between the sun and the asteroid Sedna at its maximum distance to the sun
• 7 d = 1 week
• 10 d - a new week ( décade ) according to the calendar of the French Revolution

10 ⁶ s to 10 ⁷ s (11.6 d to 116 d)

• 27.3217 d - a sidereal month
• 28 d or 29 d - length of the month of February
• 29 d - average length of a woman's period
• 29.53059 d - middle synodic month
• 30 d = 1 legal month (according to § 191 BGB)
• 30d - length of the months of April, June, September, November
• 31 d - length of the months January, March, May, July, August, October, December
• 87d 23.3 h - one orbit of the planet Mercury around the sun

10 ⁷ s to 10 ⁸ s (116 d to 3.17 a)

• 224,701 d - one orbit of the planet Venus around the sun
• 280 d - average length of human pregnancy
• 346.62 d - an eclipse year , period of solar and lunar eclipses
• 353 d - the shortest possible year in the lunisolar calendar
• 354.37 d - a lunar year of a lunar calendar
• 365 d - a common year according to most solar calendars
• 365.2422 d = 1 tropical year , the mean solar year
• 365.2425 d - a Gregorian year , the middle calendar year in the Gregorian calendar
• 365.25 d - a Julian year , the middle calendar year in the Julian calendar
• 365.2564 d - Sidereal year , the star-fixed orbital period of the earth
• 365.259635864 d - Anomalous year , the Earth's true orbit period
• 366 d - a leap year according to most solar calendars
• 385 d - the longest possible year in the lunisolar calendar
• 445 d - the confused year , the longest year in known human history
• 640 d - mean length of pregnancy in an African elephant
• 1.88 a - one orbit of the planet Mars around the sun
• 3 a - typical bachelor's degree

10 ⁸ s to 10 ⁹ s (3.17 a to 31.7 a)

• 4 a - Olympics
• 4.22 a - the transit time of light between the sun and the next fixed star Proxima Centauri
• 4.60 a - one orbit of the dwarf planet Ceres around the sun
• 10 a = 1 decade (decade)
• 11 a - Sunspot activity cycle
• 11.87 a - one orbit of the planet Jupiter around the sun
• 12,126 a - Duration of the " Third Reich " in Germany (March 23, 1933 - May 8, 1945)
• 12.32 a - half-life of tritium (superheavy hydrogen )
• 13,471 a - Duration of the Weimar Republic (August 11, 1919 - January 30, 1933)
• 16,071 a - Helmut Kohl's reign as Federal Chancellor (October 1, 1982 - October 26, 1998)
• 18.03 a - Saros cycle (223 synodic months)
• 18,613 a - nutation period
• 28 a - Julian calendar period
• 29,458 a - one orbit of the planet Saturn around the sun

10 ⁹ s to 10 ¹⁰ s (31.7 a to 317 a)

• 40,988 a - Duration of the German Democratic Republic (October 7, 1949 - October 3, 1990)
• 47.81 a - Duration of the German Empire (January 18, 1871 - November 9, 1918)
• 80 a - average human life expectancy in the western world
• 84.0 a - one orbit of the planet Uranus around the sun
• 100 a = 1 century (hectode)
• 122 a - highest known human lifespan
• 164.8 a - one orbit of the planet Neptune around the sun
• 247.7 a - one orbit of the dwarf planet Pluto around the sun
• 287.8 a - one orbit of the asteroid (50,000) quaoar around the sun

10 ¹⁰ s to 10 ¹¹ s (317 a to 3,169 a)

• 400 a - Gregorian calendar period
• 557 a - an orbit of the dwarf planet Eris around the sun
• approx. 600 a - duration of ancient Greece
• 1,000 a = 1 millennium (Millennium)
• approx. 1,100 a - duration of the Roman Empire
• 2,400 a - estimated age of the largest currently known living being, a witch ring of a Hallimasch
• approx. 2,950 a - Duration of the Abyssinian Empire

10 ¹¹ s to 10 ¹² s (3,169 a to 31,689 a)

• 3,800 a - oldest sequoia tree
• 4,585 a - Age of the Great Pyramid of Cheops
• 5.730 a - Half-life of the isotope carbon -14 ( radiocarbon method )
• 11,500 a - estimated orbital period of the trans-Neptunian object Sedna around the sun
• 25,800 a - precession period of the earth's axis ( Platonic year )

Times longer than 10 ¹² s ≈ 31,689 a

• approx. 40,000 a - age of the oldest known cave paintings (in the El Castillo cave )
• approx. 200,000 a - age of the species Homo sapiens

10 ¹³ s ≈ 316,888 a

• 1,000,000 a = 1 Ma - average lifespan of a blue giant (a star type )

10 ¹⁴ s ≈ 3,168,876 a ~ 3.17 Ma

• 4 Ma - estimated average lifetime of a species

10 ¹⁵ s ≈ 31,688,764 a ~ 31.7 Ma

• 226 Ma - orbit time of the solar system around the center of the Milky Way

10 ¹⁶ s ≈ 317 Ma

• 420 Ma - age of the air-breathing living things on earth
• 703.8 Ma - half-life of the isotope uranium -235 ( discovery of nuclear fission )

10 ¹⁷ s ≈ 3.17 Ga

• 3.5 Ga to 4.1 Ga - age of life on earth
• approx. 3.8 Ga - age of the Mare Imbrium
• 4,468 Ga - half-life of the isotope uranium -238 ( breeder reactor )
• 4.6 Ga - age of the earth
• 10 Ga - the estimated time that a G2 dwarf star (such as the Sun ) spends on the main sequence
• 13.8 Ga - age of the universe according to the current standard model of cosmology (see also Big Bang )

10 ²⁰ s ≈ 3.1688 10 ¹² a ≈ 3.17 Ta

• 10 Ta - lifespan of the smallest red dwarfs
• 7.2 · 10 ²⁴ a - half-life of the isotope tellurium -128 (slowest measured decay of all atomic nuclei)
• 10 ³⁶ a - assumed time scale of proton decay in some physical theories
• 10 ⁶⁹ a - typical lifetime of stellar black holes
• 10 ¹⁰⁶ a - Lifetime of the largest known black hole

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Research by the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics , u. a. with these publications ( Memento of the original from January 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.