Millisecond

/ˈmɪləˌsɛkənd/ noun

Definition

A unit of time equal to one-thousandth of a second; an extremely brief moment.

Etymology

From Latin 'mille' (thousand) + 'second' (the unit of time). The prefix 'milli-' was systematically applied to metric measurements in the late 1700s when the metric system was developed in France.

Kelly Says

Milliseconds matter more than you'd think—a computer executing millions of operations per millisecond, or a fighter pilot's reflex measured in milliseconds, can change everything. Humans can't actually perceive individual milliseconds (we need about 13 milliseconds of continuous stimulation to notice something), which is why movies at 24 frames per second feel smooth.

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