Meanings
plural quectoseconds
- metrologyAn SI unit of time equal to 10⁻³⁰ seconds. Symbol: qs
quectosecond rontosecond plank time zeptosecond
2023 February 24, eladl, “What is smaller than a yoctosecond?”, in math.answers.com5 more examples
Holonyms: rontosecond < yoctosecond < zeptosecond < attosecond < femtosecond < picosecond < nanosecond < microsecond < millisecond < centisecond < decisecond < second < decasecond < minute < hectosecond < kilosecond < hour < week < megasecond < month < year < gigasecond < century < kiloannum, kiloyear, millennium < terasecond < mega-annum, megayear < petasecond < giga-annum, gigayear < exasecond < zettasecond < yottasecond < ronnasecond < quettasecond
The number is bafflingly small. The largest possible value this fundamental unit of time could be is one thousandth of a quectosecond, according to research published last month in the journal Physical Review Letters. That’s ten to the -33rd power or, as Live Science helpfully put it, just one millionth of a billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a second. And that’s just the upper limit, based on the performance of the best atomic clocks we have. In the abstract world of mathematical theory, Live Science reports the absolute smallest unit of time could be yet another 100 billion times shorter.
2020 July 13, Dan Robitzski, “Physicists Say This Is the Smallest Unit of Time That Could Exist”, in futurism.comCan it represent quectoseconds though? I need my time to be really precise and nanosecond just doesn't do the trick.
2021 June 6, FirmDig, nonsenseis, “Time.h”, in reddit.comWithin SI there is the zeptosecond: 1 zs = 0.001 as = 10⁻²¹ s, and the yoctosecond: 1 ys = 0.001 zs = 10⁻²⁴ s. The CIPM has prepared draft resolutions submitted to and to be voted on by the CGPM in 2022–11, one of which involves four additional scaling prefixes to SI, two of which are relevant to the question. These prefixes will not be official unless and until approved by the CGPM, so there is a small risk that I am jumping the gun: the rontosecond: 1 rs = 0.001 ys = 10⁻²⁷ s; the quectosecond: 1 qs = 0.001 rs = 10⁻³⁰ s.
2022 March 19, Howard Ludwig, “Is there a unit of time smaller than an attosecond?”, in quora.comYou may be interested to take a look at one of the earlier uses of those two new designations, Rontosecond and Quectosecond, officially cited as such from your meetings from 15-18 November 2022 in Paris, of the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) of your International Commission of Weights and Measures (BIPM) whereby you all adopted Resolution 3 making it a globally acceptable name for the range 10−30 to 10−32 of the infinitesimal scale of time.
2023 May 20, Bruce, “The Work of the Bureau International Poids et Mesures (BIPM)”, in https://81018.com
Origin
Cite this entry
quectosecond. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quectosecond
“quectosecond.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quectosecond. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quectosecond,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quectosecond.
Source: quectosecond on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.