Instant · Precise · Universal
28 units available
6 categories total
To convert ns to seconds: multiply by 10⁻⁹. To convert ns to microseconds: divide by 1,000.
1 ns = 10⁻⁹ s = 1,000 ps = 0.001 µs. Light travels about 30 cm (1 foot) in one nanosecond.
For example, 1 Nanosecond (ns) = 0.1 Shake (shake).
| Nanosecond (ns) | Shake (shake) |
|---|---|
| 0.1 | 0.01 |
| 0.5 | 0.05 |
| 1 | 0.1 |
| 2 | 0.2 |
| 5 | 0.5 |
| 10 | 1 |
| 25 | 2.5 |
| 50 | 5 |
| 100 | 10 |
| 500 | 50 |
| 1000 | 100 |
The nanosecond is a unit of time equal to 10⁻⁹ seconds — one billionth of a second.
1 ns = 10⁻⁹ s = 1,000 ps = 0.001 µs. Light travels about 30 cm (1 foot) in one nanosecond.
To convert ns to seconds: multiply by 10⁻⁹. To convert ns to microseconds: divide by 1,000.
CPU clock cycles (a 3 GHz processor has ~0.33 ns per cycle), DDR memory timing, Ethernet packet gaps, and GPS signal timing.
Grace Hopper handed out 30 cm wires to explain nanoseconds: 'This is one nanosecond' — the distance light travels in that time.
Confusing nanoseconds with milliseconds — they differ by a factor of 1,000,000. In computing, ns and ms are very different.
Grace Hopper's wire trick: hold a 30 cm ruler — light crosses it in 1 ns. This makes the abstract concept tangible.
A shake is an informal unit of time equal to 10 nanoseconds (10⁻⁸ seconds), used in nuclear physics.
1 shake = 10 ns = 10⁻⁸ s = 10,000 ps. A nuclear fission event takes about 1 shake.
To convert shakes to seconds: multiply by 10⁻⁸. To nanoseconds: multiply by 10.
Timing nuclear chain reactions, modeling neutron transport in reactors, and nuclear weapon physics calculations.
In a nuclear explosion, the chain reaction is complete in about 50–60 shakes (500–600 ns). The name reflects the era's dark humor.
Not recognizing 'shake' as a real unit. It's informal but precisely defined and still used in nuclear engineering.
A 'shake' = 10 nanoseconds. It was invented at Los Alamos to make nuclear timing calculations easier — humor in extreme circumstances.



© 2026 UntangleTools. All Rights Reserved.