Bizzare Facts

We often use the phrase 'I'll be back in a jiffy' to mean a short, indeterminate amount of time. However, in the world of science, a **jiffy** is a precise and extremely brief unit of measurement. Its definition varies by field, but in fundamental physics, it is defined as the time it takes for light to travel one centimeter in a vacuum—approximately **33.3564 picoseconds**.

In electronics and computing, a jiffy can refer to the duration of one tick of the system timer interrupt (often 1/100th or 1/60th of a second). So, technically, if you say you'll be back in a jiffy, you are promising to return in less than a blink of an eye—a promise you are almost certainly destined to break.