Convert Nanosecond (ns) to Picosecond (ps) instantly.
About these units
Nanosecond (ns)
A nanosecond is one billionth of a second (10⁻⁹ s), a timescale critical for modern digital circuits, high-frequency communication, and quantum experimentation. Light travels only about 30 centimeters in a nanosecond—making ns measurements essential in time-of-flight sensors, LIDAR systems, and high-speed oscilloscopes. Computer processor operations often occur at nanosecond intervals; modern CPUs with gigahertz clock speeds execute billions of cycles per second. In memory access and cache latency profiling, nanoseconds provide unparalleled insight into system performance. At this scale, electrical signals behave differently, revealing the importance of impedance, propagation delay, and electromagnetic behavior in modern electronics.
Picosecond (ps)
A picosecond equals 10⁻¹² seconds. At this timescale, even light travels only about 0.3 millimeters, making picoseconds vital in advanced optics, ultrafast laser systems, and femtochemistry. Picosecond lasers enable precision cutting in medical devices, microfabrication, and semiconductor processing. They also allow scientists to study vibrational modes of molecules and rapid electron transitions in materials. In telecommunications, picosecond precision is necessary for characterizing optical fiber dispersion, jitter, and photonic switching. At such rapid intervals, the boundaries of classical physics begin to blur, leading toward quantum mechanical interpretations of time and energy.