What is a nanosecond? – TechTarget Definition

nanosecond (ns or nsec)

What is a nanosecond (ns or nsec)?

A nanosecond (ns or nsec) is one-billionth (10-9) of a second. It is a common measurement of read or write access time to RAM. The nanosecond rating determines the speed and latency of the RAM and impacts the computer system’s performance.

A nanosecond is a measure of time that has many practical applications, particularly in computer science and IT. The term nano comes from the Greek root nanos, which means dwarf.

At one-billionth of a second, a nanosecond is smaller than a millisecond and microsecond, but larger than a picosecond, femtosecond and attosecond. Computer memory speed is often represented in nanoseconds. A lower-memory nanosecond specification means the computer can access its memory faster and generally operate at a higher speed to produce its output. Thus, RAM that operates at 60 ns is slower — and usually less desirable — than RAM that operates at 20 ns.

Nanosecond vs. other time measurements

For most purposes, a second is the smallest unit of time as represented on a watch or clock.

A millisecond is one-thousandth of a second (10-3). It is written as ms or msec and is commonly used to measure the time required to read to or write from a hard disk or solid-state drive (SSD) and to measure the travel time of data packets on the internet.

A microsecond is one-millionth (10-6) of a second and is represented as μs (Greek letter mu plus s). A picosecond is one-trillionth (10-12) of a second or one-millionth of a microsecond. A femtosecond is one-quadrillionth of a second (10-15) or one-millionth of a nanosecond, and an attosecond is one-quintillionth (10-18) of a second. The femtosecond is sometimes used in laser technology, while the attosecond is used in photon research.

Latency and nanoseconds in RAM

For computer RAM, latency is usually measured in nanoseconds. Latency is a combination of speed and Column Address Strobe (CAS) latency. It can be calculated by multiplying clock cycle duration by the total number of clock cycles. System performance is affected by both speed and latency, so increasing the former and decreasing the latter can result in better performance.

CAS latency (CL) measures the total number of clock cycles the data must go through, that is, the number of clock cycles it takes for RAM to access the data — called by the central processing unit — in one of its columns and make it available on its output pins. A RAM module’s latency is determined by CL and also by the duration of each clock cycle, which is measured in nanoseconds.

A module’s latency in terms of nanoseconds enables comparisons between modules. Specifically, it shows whether one module is more responsive than another. For example, a single data rate (SDR) module with a clock cycle time of 8 ns and CL of 3 has a total latency of 24 ns. In comparison, a double data rate 5 (DDR5) module with a clock cycle time of 0.42 ns and CL of 40 has a total latency of only 16.67 ns. Since DDR5 has lower latency, it indicates that it is more responsive than the SDR memory.

As memory technology has improved, clock cycle times have decreased, and therefore, overall processing speeds have increased. But, at the same time, the CL values have also increased. Combining these two factors means that the true RAM latency as measured in nanoseconds has remained roughly the same.

That said, it is possible to improve system performance by using newer, faster and more efficient memory. The key is to maintain a balance between the maximum speed the processor is capable of and the lowest latency memory available within a user’s budget.

Nanoseconds, electricity and light

A nanosecond is sometimes referred to as a light foot, since light can travel approximately 1 foot (11.8 inches) in 1 ns. Electricity also travels about 1 foot in 1 ns. Admiral Grace Hopper is famous for demonstrating this phenomenon by handing out foot-long lengths of wire to those who attended her lectures on technology to illustrate how far an electrical signal can travel in 1 ns. Since the wire is a tangible object, it helps to show the difficult-to-comprehend concept of a billionth of a second in more tangible terms.

What is a nanosecond laser?

A nanosecond laser, also known as a nanolaser, is a type of Q-switched pulsed laser. Q-switching, also known as Q-spoiling or giant pulse formation, is a laser technique of producing a pulsed output beam with extremely high peak power and lower pulse repetition rates. The pulses are generated using a high-speed shutter.

The depletion time for gain materials used in the laser is usually on the order of a few nanoseconds, which results in the generation of light pulses. Many lasers that can be Q-switched can be used to produce nanosecond pulse width lasers. These include solid-state lasers, flash lamp lasers, fiber lasers and microchip lasers. Nanosecond lasers are available in many wavelength ranges — ultraviolet to infrared — as well as pulse energies from nanojoule to joule and repetition rates from hertz to megahertz.

These lasers are commonly used in applications that demand high intensities in nanosecond pulses, such as metal cutting, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and material marking.

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