Flick (time)

Unit of time used in audio/video timing cacluations

This article is about the unit of time. For the unit of spectral radiance, see Flick (physics).

A flick is a unit of time equal to exactly 1/705,600,000 of a second. The figure was chosen so that time periods associated with frequencies commonly used for video or screen frame rate (24, 25, 30, 48, 50, 60, 90, 100 and 120 Hz), as well as audio sampling (8, 16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, and 192 kHz), can all be represented nicely with integers.[1] That is useful in programming, because non-integer computing generally involves approximations, and possibly leads to noticeable errors.

A flick is approximately 1.42 × 10−9 s, which makes it larger than a nanosecond but much smaller than a microsecond.

The unit was launched in January 2018 by Facebook.[2] A similar unit for integer representation of temporal points was proposed in 2004 under the name TimeRef, splitting a second into 14,112,000 parts.[3] This makes 1 TimeRef equivalent to 50 flicks.

## Etymology

[edit]

The word flick is a portmanteau of frame (as in e.g. animation frame) and tick (as in computer instruction cycle).[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "OculusVR/Flicks". GitHub. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
2. ^ a b "Facebook invents new unit of time". BBC News. 21 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
3. ^ Raphaël Troncy, Jean Carrive, Steffen Lalande and Jean-Philippe Poli (2004). "A Motivating Scenario for Designing an Extensible Audio-Visual Description Language". `{{cite journal}}`: Cite journal requires `|journal=` (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

## External links

[edit]

* YouTube video: Why Did Facebook Invent A New Unit Of Time? The "Flick" Explained With Math.

* v
* t
* e

Time measurement and standards

* Chronometry
* Orders of magnitude
* Metrology

International standards|

* Coordinated Universal Time
* offset
* UT
* ΔT
* DUT1
* International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service
* ISO 31-1
* ISO 8601
* International Atomic Time
* 12-hour clock
* 24-hour clock
* Barycentric Coordinate Time
* Barycentric Dynamical Time
* Civil time
* Daylight saving time
* Geocentric Coordinate Time
* International Date Line
* IERS Reference Meridian
* Leap second
* Solar time
* Terrestrial Time
* Time zone
* 180th meridian

Obsolete standards|

* Ephemeris time
* Greenwich Mean Time
* Prime meridian

Time in physics|

* Absolute space and time
* Spacetime
* Chronon
* Continuous signal
* Coordinate time
* Cosmological decade
* Discrete time and continuous time
* Proper time
* Theory of relativity
* Time dilation
* Gravitational time dilation
* Time domain
* Time-translation symmetry
* T-symmetry

Horology|

* Clock
* Astrarium
* Atomic clock
* Complication
* History of timekeeping devices
* Hourglass
* Marine chronometer
* Marine sandglass
* Radio clock
* Watch
* stopwatch
* Water clock
* Sundial
* Dialing scales
* Equation of time
* History of sundials
* Sundial markup schema

Calendar|

* Gregorian
* Hebrew
* Hindu
* Holocene
* Islamic (lunar Hijri)
* Julian
* Solar Hijri
* Astronomical
* Dominical letter
* Epact
* Equinox
* Intercalation
* Julian day
* Leap year
* Lunar
* Lunisolar
* Solar
* Solstice
* Tropical year
* Weekday determination
* Weekday names

Archaeology and geology|

* Chronological dating
* Geologic time scale
* International Commission on Stratigraphy

Astronomical chronology|

* Galactic year
* Nuclear timescale
* Precession
* Sidereal time

Other units of time|

* Instant
* Flick
* Shake
* Jiffy
* Second
* Minute
* Moment
* Hour
* Day
* Week
* Fortnight
* Month
* Year
* Olympiad
* Lustrum
* Decade
* Century
* Saeculum
* Millennium

Related topics|

* Chronology
* Duration
* music
* Mental chronometry
* Decimal time
* Metric time
* System time
* Time metrology
* Time value of money
* Timekeeper

This time-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template