What is a jiffy ? Definition and examples

In everyday language, a jiffy usually refers to a short period of time.

If someone says that he will be back in a jiffy, the person usually means that he will be back shortly.

In physics, Gilbert Newton defined a jiffy as the time it takes light to travel a distance of 1 centimeter.

According to Gilbert Newton, that time is 33.3564 microseconds or

33.3564  × 10^-12 seconds .

In computer engineering, a jiffy could vary from 10 milliseconds to 1/50 second.

In electrical engineering, 1/50 or 1/60 is the time it takes alternating current to complete 1 cycle.

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