6 ms·
> The response latency of the real world is zero No, it's actually the speed of light.
by abpavel 10y ago
> The response latency of the real world is zero
No, it's actually the speed of light.
- athenot 10y agoThis article mentions latencies in the order of magnitude of 50 to 100ms. For reference, the speed light takes to travel 3m/10ft is 0.00001 ms. For the problem being considered (latency in user interfaces), it IS insignificant, and rounded to zero.
- abpavel 10y agoNot sure what you're measuring with 3m/10ft, and what would travel that distance at the exact speed of light. For the reference, electrical signals travel at about 2/3c through fiber, a bit faster that that through copper. I was simply pointing out that even interaction of atoms to proximity is propagated with a speed of light, and should not be called zero. Nothing to do with the rest of the article or the excellent app idea.
- aeorgnoieang 10y agoNo, actually latency is a time interval (duration) whereas the speed of light is, well, a speed, and so not directly comparable. But I think we both know what the author meant by the original statement.
- abpavel 10y agoIf you bring one atom to a second atom, a second atom will react to the proximity of the first atom in the time it takes light to travel from the first atom to the second one. Atoms never really touch, but the point is that there is always latency.
- Strom 10y agoI'm no physics expert, but doesn't quantum entanglement [1] contradict that? -- [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_entanglement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_entanglement
- rtkwe 10y agoNo because there's no information traveling between the two particles. The particle that gets measured 'first' still has a random state. Also forcing one of the particles into a particular state to try to send a message breaks entanglement.
- chadgeidel 10y agoI thought "instantaneous" essentially be on the order of 100-200 ms given human reaction times, but apparently we can visually detect latencies down to the 10-20 ms scales.
- tantalor 10y agoReaction time includes a behavioral response like pressing a button after a stimulus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_time You also have to consider the speed of the neural pathway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerve_conduction_velocity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerve_conduction_velocity
- semi-extrinsic 10y agoI noticed this earlier today as I intentionally smashed a small piece of glass (for a project) - the smashing and scattering of pieces happened in less than one second, but my subconscious managed to accurately track both the number (~5) and direction of the significant pieces that went flying. That was quite surprising to me.
- spyder 10y agoMicrosoft Research showed that anything above 1ms latency is noticeable on touchscreens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOvQCPLkPt4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOvQCPLkPt4
- emmelaich 10y agoI think it's actually much more. I ridiculed a friend when he said he could a stroboscopic effect from wheels in normal daylight. But it is actually a real thing which I've experienced myself. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagon-wheel_effect#Truly_continuous_illumination https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagon-wheel_effect#Truly_conti...