The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word NANOSECOND
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
N
A
N
O
S
E
C
O
N
D
More clues leading to the result NANOSECOND
- Flash, as exploding cannon does
- Nose cone briefly splitting and breaking in next to no time!
- Granny, initially out and back in practically no time!
- Does cannon shot flash?
- Seed-spiller gets back to back in a trice
- Only a little flash, perhaps, no Cannes do!
- Grandma, old, back for short time
- Torture can end soon — very, very soon
- Grandma takes ring back for an instant
- Instant backing regarding article by supporter
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "flash" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case flash = nanosecond.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does NANOSECOND mean?
NANOSECOND noun- A measure of time equal to one billionth of a second. Abbreviation: ns