Convert Shake (shake) to Octennial (8 years) instantly.
About these units
Shake (shake)
A shake is a playful but scientifically important unit equal to 10 nanoseconds. It originated in the Manhattan Project, where physicists needed a convenient term for very short intervals in nuclear chain reactions. A nuclear fission event occurs on the order of a few shakes, making the unit ideal for modeling neutron capture, reaction propagation, and weapon physics. Today, the shake appears in nuclear engineering literature, plasma physics, and astrophysics—any field involving extremely rapid events. Despite its whimsical name, the shake represents a meaningful scientific compromise: short enough for nuclear events, yet still relatable and easy to calculate.
Octennial (8 years)
An octennial period covers eight years and is significant in political and historical contexts—especially where term limits or cycles operate in eight-year increments, such as two consecutive four-year political terms. The octennial cycle also appears in meteorology, where certain oscillations such as ENSO (El Niño–Southern Oscillation) exhibit approximate multi-year frequencies. Its moderate length makes it useful in demographic and cohort studies that compare long-term stability with relatively short generational intervals.