To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various frequencies, which is measured in hertz.
| Factor (Hz) |
Multiple | Value | Item |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10−18 | 1 attohertz (aHz) | ~2.29 aHz | The Hubble Constant (once in 13.8 billion years) |
| 10−15 | 1 femtohertz (fHz) | ||
| 10−12 | 1 picohertz (pHz) | ||
| 10−11 | 10 pHz | ~31.71 pHz | Once per millennium |
| 10−10 | 100 pHz | ~317.1 pHz | Once per century |
| 10−9 | 1 nanohertz (nHz) | ~1 nHz | Once per generation |
| ~3.171 nHz | Once per decade | ||
| 10−8 | 10nHz | 11.6699016 nHz | Once in a blue moon |
| ~31.71 nHz | Yearly (or Earth's orbital frequency) | ||
| 10−7 | 100 nHz | ~380.5 nHz | Monthly (or the Moon's orbital frequency) |
| ~413 nHz | Average menstrual cycle (28 days) | ||
| 10−6 | 1 microhertz (µHz) | ~1.653 µHz | Weekly |
| 10−5 | 10 µHz | ~11.57 µHz | Daily (or Earth's rotation frequency) |
| 10−4 | 100 µHz | ~277.8 µHz | Once per hour |
| 10−3 | 1 millihertz (mHz) | ||
| 10−2 | 1 centihertz (cHz) | ~16.667 mHz | One rpm |
| 10−1 | 1 decihertz (dHz) | ||
| 100 | 1 hertz | 1 to 1.66 Hz | approximate frequency of an adult human's resting heart beat |
| 1 Hz | 60 bpm, common tempos in music. | ||
| 2 Hz | 120 bpm, common tempos in music. | ||
| 101 | 1 decahertz (daHz) | 10 Hz | cyclic rate of a typical automobile engine at idle (equivalent to 600 rpm) |
| 12 Hz | acoustic — the lowest possible frequency that a human can hear | ||
| 27.5 Hz | acoustic — the lowest musical note (A) playable on a normally-tuned standard piano | ||
| 50 Hz | electromagnetic — standard AC mains power (European AC, Tokyo AC) | ||
| 60 Hz | electromagnetic — standard AC mains power (American AC, Osaka AC) | ||
| 102 | 1 hectohertz (hHz) | 100 Hz | cyclic rate of a typical automobile engine at redline (equivalent to 6000 rpm) |
| 261.626 Hz | acoustic — the musical note middle C | ||
| 440 Hz | acoustic — concert pitch (A above middle C), used for tuning musical instruments | ||
| 103 | 1 kilohertz (kHz) | 4.186 kHz | acoustic — the highest musical note (C8) playable on a normally-tuned standard piano |
| 8 kHz | ISDN sampling rate | ||
| 104 | 10 kHz | 14 kHz | acoustic — the upper limit of human hearing |
| 17.4 kHz | acoustic — a frequency known as The Mosquito, which is generally only audible to those under the age of 24. | ||
| 105 | 100 kHz | 740 kHz | the clock speed of the world's first commercial microprocessor, the Intel 4004 (1971) |
| 106 | 1 megahertz (MHz) | 530 kHz to 1.710 MHz | electromagnetic — AM radio broadcasts |
| 1 MHz to 8 MHz | clock speeds of early home/personal computers (mid-1970s to mid-1980s) | ||
| 107 | 10 MHz | 13.56 MHz | electromagnetic — Near field communication |
| 108 | 100 MHz | 88 MHz to 108 MHz | electromagnetic — FM radio broadcasts |
| 902 to 928 MHz | electromagnetic — common cordless telephone frequency in the US | ||
| 109 | 1 gigahertz (GHz) | 1.42 GHz | electromagnetic — the hyperfine transition of hydrogen, also known as the hydrogen line or 21 cm line |
| 2.4 GHz | electromagnetic — microwave ovens, Wireless LANs and cordless phones (starting in 1998). | ||
| 3.8 GHz | highest clock speed Pentium 4 "Prescott" microprocessor (2005) | ||
| 5.8 GHz | electromagnetic — cordless phone frequency introduced in 2003 | ||
| 1010 | 10 GHz | 3 GHz to 30 GHz | electromagnetic — super high frequency |
| 1011 | 100 GHz | 160.2 GHz | electromagnetic — peak of cosmic microwave background radiation |
| 845 GHz | fastest transistor (Dec. 2006). | ||
| 1012 | 1 terahertz THz | ||
| 1013 | 10 THz | 21 THz to 33 THz | electromagnetic — infrared light used in thermal imaging, for example for night vision |
| 1014 | 100 THz | 428 THz to 750 THz | electromagnetic — visible light, from red to violet |
| 1015 | 1 petahertz PHz | 2.47 PHz | electromagnetic — Lyman-alpha line |
| 1016 | 10 PHz | 30 PHz | electromagnetic — x-rays |
| 1017 | 100 PHz | ||
| 1018 | 1 exahertz EHz | ||
| 1019 | 10 EHz | ||
| 1020 | 100 EHz | 300 EHz + | electromagnetic — gamma rays |
| 1024 | 262×1024 Hz | The frequency of heat which causes uranium to fission | |
| 1043 | 1.85×1043 Hz | Planck frequency, the inverse of the Planck time |
Famous quotes containing the words orders and/or magnitude:
“There is nothing on earth more exquisite than a bonny book, with well-placed columns of rich black writing in beautiful borders, and illuminated pictures cunningly inset. But nowadays, instead of looking at books, people read them. A book might as well be one of those orders for bacon and bran.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“Sometimes you’re overwhelmed when a thing comes, and you do not realize the magnitude of the affair at that moment. When you get away from it, you wonder, did it really happen to you.”
—Marian Anderson (1902–1993)