response time

English edit

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response time (plural response times)

(biology, medicine) The period of time between the application of a stimulus and the associated response from a cell or tissue.
- 1896, The medical chronicle, page 136:
  Professor G. Fano (Florence), after accurately determining the "latent period," or "response time," following faradic stimulation of a given motor area
The time taken for a person (or human-controlled system) to respond to a request.
- 1931 September 2, “Police Praise Radio as Best Crime Weapon”, in Chicago Tribune:
  the average response time on a call was 3.1 minutes
(electronics) The time taken for the display of an instrument to move to a new value following a step change.
(computing) The period of time between a request for a service and the associated response; typically the request is caused by a user at a terminal hitting the return key, and the response is displayed on a screen.

time between stimulus and cell or tissue response

time between request and human response

time between step change and instrument display update

time between request and computer service response