kilosecond

Kilosecond (symbol ks) is a unit of time equal to 1,000 seconds. It is formed by applying the SI prefix kilo- to the second, the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). The kilosecond is used as a convenient way to express intermediate durations in scientific contexts without converting to minutes or hours.

Conversions: 1 ks = 1,000 seconds, which is 16 minutes and 40 seconds, or about 0.2778 hours. In larger scales, 1 day equals 86.4 ks, and 1 hour equals 3.6 ks. Practical multiples include 2 ks, 5 ks, and so on, up to very large values such as tens or hundreds of kiloseconds depending on the application.

Usage: Kiloseconds are commonly used in astronomy, high-energy physics, and related fields to describe exposure times and elapsed durations that are cumbersome to express in minutes or hours. The abbreviation ks appears in observational data products, catalogs, and mission reports (for example, an exposure time of 25 ks). While standard in certain scientific communities, kiloseconds are less common in everyday timekeeping, where minutes and hours are preferred.

Context: As a decimal multiple of the second, the kilosecond is one of several non-base units used with SI time. It remains most familiar to practitioners working with long-duration measurements, such as telescope observations and satellite data acquisition.