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nanosecond

 
Dictionary: nan·o·sec·ond   (năn'ə-sĕk'ənd) pronunciation
n. (Abbr. ns or nsec)
One billionth (10 -9) of a second.


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Modern Science: nanosecond
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nanosecond (NAN-uh-sek-uhnd)

A billionth of a second.The term is often used to refer to a very short time: “He missed having an accident by nanoseconds.”

(1) One billionth of a second. Used to measure the speed of logic and memory chips, a nanosecond can be visualized by converting it to distance. In one nanosecond, electricity travels approximately a foot in a wire. Admiral Grace Hopper was famous for handing out strands of "telephone wire nanoseconds" to her audience whenever she lectured about technology. Holding the wire turns the unreal concept of a billionth of a second into reality.

Even at 186,000 miles per second, electricity is never fast enough for the hardware designer who worries over a few inches of circuit path. The slightest delay is multiplied millions of times, since millions of pulses are sent through a wire in a single second. In addition, today's chips contain more than a quarter mile of wire traces (current-carrying pathways). Future chips are expected to contain several miles of circuit paths. See space/time, jiffy and ohnosecond.

(2) The time between a traffic light turning green and a New York City cab driver blowing his horn.

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Veterinary Dictionary: nanosecond
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One-thousand-millionth (10−9) second; abbreviated ns or nsec.

Translations: Nanosecond
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - nanosekund

Nederlands (Dutch)
nanoseconde (miljardste seconde)

Français (French)
n. - nanoseconde

Deutsch (German)
n. - Nanosekunde

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - δισεκατομμυριοστό του δευτερολέπτου

Italiano (Italian)
nanosecondo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - nanossegundo (m)

Русский (Russian)
наносекунда

Español (Spanish)
n. - nanosegundo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - nanosekund

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
十亿分之一秒

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 十億分之一秒

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 10억 분의 1초

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ナノ秒

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) جزء من بليون من الثانيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אחד חלקי מיליארד של שניה‬


 
 
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ns (abbreviation)
nsec (abbreviation)
jiffy (technology)

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Modern Science. The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Second Edition, Revised and updated Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 1993 by Houghton Mifflin Company . All rights reserved.  Read more
Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. THIS COPYRIGHTED DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.
All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
© 1981-2009 Computer Language Company Inc.  All rights reserved.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
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