split second
an extremely small period of time
TRANSLATION
split second = der Sekundenbruchteil --- GOOGLE INDEX split second: approximately 18,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
In the SPLIT SECOND when he turned around, his wallet or mobile phone would disappear from his pocket.
(Times Of India)
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That will require in-depth knowledge and expertise, not just for the pilots but for all those on board who orchestrate the SPLIT-SECOND technical demands of aircraft carrier landings and take-offs, where every movement must be precise and structured to avoid disaster.
(BBC News)
(Times Of India)
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That will require in-depth knowledge and expertise, not just for the pilots but for all those on board who orchestrate the SPLIT-SECOND technical demands of aircraft carrier landings and take-offs, where every movement must be precise and structured to avoid disaster.
(BBC News)
Did you
know?
split second
noun & adjective phrase
- a very short moment of time
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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While everyone understands that one second is a relatively short period time, we usually don't stop to think about how long one second actually is, or how it is defined.
The Babylonians (in about 300-100 BC) performed astronomical calculation in the sexagesimal (base-60) system. This was extremely convenient for simplifying time division, since 60 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10. What we now call a minute derives from the first fractional sexagesimal place. The second fractional place is the origin of the second.
The international scientific definition of a second, agreed upon in 1967, is the time it takes for the frequency in a cesium atom to oscillate 9,192,631,770 times. This is how atomic clocks based on the cesium atom became the primary means for accurate timekeeping.
As for a "split second," this refers to a stop watch that has two second hands, one above the other, for timing multiple moving objects, such as athletes or racing vehicles. Each hand can be stopped independently of the other, so a second can be "split" when one second hand stops a fraction of a second after the other.
(sources: Encyclopedia Britannica, American Heritage Dictionary, wisteme.com)
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SYNONYMS
bat of an eye, blink of an eye, in a jiffy, in a flash
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Split-second decisions can sometimes have life-long consequences."
---
Thanks to Stefan for suggesting today's word!
noun & adjective phrase
- a very short moment of time
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
While everyone understands that one second is a relatively short period time, we usually don't stop to think about how long one second actually is, or how it is defined.
The Babylonians (in about 300-100 BC) performed astronomical calculation in the sexagesimal (base-60) system. This was extremely convenient for simplifying time division, since 60 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10. What we now call a minute derives from the first fractional sexagesimal place. The second fractional place is the origin of the second.
The international scientific definition of a second, agreed upon in 1967, is the time it takes for the frequency in a cesium atom to oscillate 9,192,631,770 times. This is how atomic clocks based on the cesium atom became the primary means for accurate timekeeping.
As for a "split second," this refers to a stop watch that has two second hands, one above the other, for timing multiple moving objects, such as athletes or racing vehicles. Each hand can be stopped independently of the other, so a second can be "split" when one second hand stops a fraction of a second after the other.
(sources: Encyclopedia Britannica, American Heritage Dictionary, wisteme.com)
---
SYNONYMS
bat of an eye, blink of an eye, in a jiffy, in a flash
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Split-second decisions can sometimes have life-long consequences."
---
Thanks to Stefan for suggesting today's word!
