Jiffy values for various Linux versions and platforms have typically varied between about 1 ms and 10 ms, with 10 ms (1/100 s) reported as an increasingly common standard in the Jargon File. A timer in the computer creates the 60 Hz rate, causing an interrupt service routine to execute every 1/60 second, which increments a 24-bit jiffy counter, scans the keyboard, and some other housekeeping too. ġ980s 8-bit Commodore computers, such as the C64 and C128, had a jiffy of 1/60 second, which was not dependent on the mains AC or video vertical refresh rate. Many older game consoles (which use televisions as a display device) commonly synchronize the system interrupt timer with the vertical frequency of the local television standard, either 59.94 Hz with NTSC systems, or 50.0 Hz (20 ms) with most PAL systems. It is not an absolute time interval unit, since its duration depends on the clock interrupt frequency of the particular hardware platform. In computing, a jiffy was originally the time between two ticks of the system timer interrupt. In electronics, a jiffy is the period of an alternating current power cycle, 1/60 or 1/50 of a second in most mains power supplies. It has since been redefined for different measurements depending on the field of study. He proposed in 1926 a unit of time called the 'jiffy' which was equal to the time it takes light to travel one centimeter in a vacuum (approximately 33.3564 picoseconds). The earliest technical usage for jiffy was defined by Gilbert Newton Lewis (1875–1946). ('Gliff' or 'gliss' for 'a transient view' was also found in older English poetry as early as 1738. (compare: 'in the blink of an eye') and may ultimately derive from Gothic or Teutonic words for 'shine'. It was common in a number of Scots English dialects and in John Jamieson's Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language (1808) it is suggested that it is a corruption of ' gliff' (glimpse) or 'gliffin' (glance)

First attested in 1780, the word's origin is unclear, though one suggestion is that it was thieves' cant for lightning.

From this, it has acquired a number of more precise applications as the name of multiple units of measurement, each used to express or measure very brief durations of time. 9050JCK plug in timers are UL listed when the proper 8501NR relay socket is used, UL component recognized and CSA certified.Jiffy can be an informal term for any unspecified short period, as in 'I will be back in a jiffy'. This plug in timer is powered up with 24 VAC/VDC. The DPDT contacts are rated 10 amperes resistive at 120 VAC, 240 VAC and 30 VDC, 3 amperes inductive at 120 VAC, 240 VAC and 30 VDC, 1/3 HP on the NC contacts at 120 VAC and 240 VAC, 1/2 HP on the NO contacts at 120 VAC and 240 VAC. These relay sockets can be mounted on 35 mm DIN 3 mounting track or directly to a panel. This plug in timer plugs into an 8501NR61 or 8501NR62 relay socket. The timing range of 0.6 to 60 seconds is easily adjustable with a knob on the top of the timer. When the trigger switch opens, the delay begins again, and the timer relay contacts remain in their energized state. If the trigger switch closes before the time delay is complete, then timing is reset. When the delay is complete, the timer relay contacts return to their shelf state. When the trigger switch opens, the time delay begins. When the customer supplied trigger switch closes, the timer relay contacts change state instantaneously. Input voltage to the timer must be applied continuously. 9050JCK plug in timers are designed to provide low cost timing in a plug in housing.

60 second timer