List of examples of lengths
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Size_planets_comparison.jpg/220px-Size_planets_comparison.jpg)
This is a list of examples of lengths, in metres in order to give an understanding of lengths.
Shorter than 1 ym[]
- 1.62×10−35 metres = the Planck length
1 ym to 1 zm[]
- 1×10−24 metres = 1 ym = 1 yoctometre, the smallest named subdivision of the metre in the SI base unit of length.
- 1×10−23 metres = 10 ym
- 2×10−23 metres = 20 ym, the effective cross-section radius of 1 MeV neutrinos as measured by Clyde Cowan and Frederick Reines[1]
1 zm to 1 am[]
- 1×10−21 metres = 1 zm = 1 zeptometre = 1000 yoctometres
- 2×10−21 metres = radius of effective cross section for a 20 GeV neutrino scattering off a nucleon[2]
- 7×10−21 metres = radius of effective cross section for a 250 GeV neutrino scattering off a nucleon[2]
- 1×10−20 metres = 10 zm
- 1×10−19 metres = 100 zm
- 310 zm — de Broglie wavelength of protons at the Large Hadron Collider (4 TeV as of 2012)
1 am to 1 fm[]
- 1×10−18 metres = 1 am = 1 attometre = 1000 zeptometres
- 1 am — sensitivity of the LIGO detector for gravitational waves
- 1×10−17 metres = 10 am
- 1×10−16 metres = 100 am
- 0.85 fm — approximate proton radius[3]
1 fm to 1 pm[]
- 1×10−15 metres = 1 fm = 1 femtometre = 1000 attometres
- 1.5 fm — diameter of the Scattering Cross Section of an 11 MeV proton with a target proton[4]
- 2.81794 fm — classical electron radius[5]
- 7 fm - the radius of the effective scattering cross section for a gold nucleus scattering a 6 MeV alpha particle over 140 degrees[4]
- 1×10−14 metres = 10 fm
- 1×10−13 metres = 100 fm
- 1×10−12 metres = 1 pm = 1 picometre = 1000 femtometres
1 picometre[]
Lengths between 10−12 and 10−11 m (1 and 10 pm).
- 1 pm = 1 picometre = 1000 femtometres
- 1 pm = distance between atomic nuclei in a white dwarf star
- 2.4 pm — The Compton wavelength of the electron.
- 5 pm — shorter X-ray wavelengths (approx.)
10 picometres[]
Lengths between 10−11 and 10−10 m (10 pm and 100 pm).
- 25 pm — of hydrogen atom[6]
- 28 pm — covalent radius of helium atom[7]
- 31 pm — covalent radius of hydrogen atom[6]
- 31 pm — calculated radius of helium atom[7]
- ~50 pm — best resolution of a high-resolution transmission electron microscope[8]
- 53 pm — calculated radius of hydrogen atom[6]
100 picometres[]
Lengths between 10−10 and 10−9 m (100 pm and 1 nm).
- 100 pm — 1 angstrom
- 100 pm — covalent radius of sulfur atom[9]
- 120 pm — van der Waals radius of a neutral hydrogen atom[10]
- 126 pm — covalent radius of ruthenium atom
- 135 pm — covalent radius of technetium atom
- 153 pm — covalent radius of silver atom
- 154 pm — mode length of (C-C) covalent bond
- 155 pm — covalent radius of zirconium atom
- 175 pm — covalent radius of thulium atom
- 200 pm — highest resolution of a typical electron microscope[11]
- 225 pm — covalent radius of caesium atom
- 340 pm — thickness of single layer graphene
- 356.68 pm — width of diamond cell (unit cell)
- 403 pm — width of lithium fluoride cell
- 500 pm — width of α helix protein
- 560 pm — width of sodium chloride cell
- 700 pm — width of glucose molecule
- 780 pm — mean width of quartz cell
- 820 pm — mean width of ice cell
- 900 pm — mean width of coesite cell
- 900 pm — width of sucrose molecule
10 nanometres 1x10−9m[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Comparison_semiconductor_process_nodes.svg/220px-Comparison_semiconductor_process_nodes.svg.png)
To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 10−8 and 10−7 m (10 and 100 nm).
- 10 nm = 10 nanometres = 10−8 metres
- 10 nm — lower size of tobacco smoke[13]
- 10 nm Shortest extreme ultraviolet wavelength or longest X-ray wavelength[14]
- — the average half-pitch of a memory cell speculated to be manufactured in 2015.
- 16 nm — technology is projected to be reached by semiconductor companies in the 2013 timeframe
- 18 nm — diameter of tobacco mosaic virus[15] (Generally, viruses range in size from 20 nm to 450 nm.)[citation needed]
- 20 nm — width of bacterial flagellum[16]
- 20 nm to 80 nm — thickness of cell wall in Gram-positive bacteria[17]
- 22 nm — Smallest feature size of production microprocessors in September 2009[18]
- 22 nm — the average half-pitch of a memory cell expected to be manufactured at around the 2011–2011 time frame.
- 30 nm — lower size of cooking oil smoke[13]
- 32 nm — the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured at around the 2009–2010 time frame.
- 45 nm — the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured at around the 2007–2008 time frame.
- 50 nm — upper size for airborne virus particles[13]
- 50 nm — flying height of the head of a hard disk[19]
- 65 nm — the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured at around the 2005–2006 time frame.
- 90 nm — the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured at around the 2002–2003 time frame.
- 100 nm — larger than 90% of the particles of wood smoke[citation needed] (ranges from 7 to 3000 nanometres)[13]
100 nanometres[]
Lengths between 10−7 and 10−6 m (100 nm and 1 µm).
- 100 nm — greatest particle size that can fit through a surgical mask[20]
- 100 nm — 90% of particles in wood smoke are smaller than this.[citation needed]
- 120 nm — greatest particle size that can fit through a ULPA filter[citation needed]
- 120 nm — diameter of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) [21]
- 125 nm — standard depth of pits on compact discs (width: 500 nm, length: 850 nm to 3.5 µm)
- 180 nm — typical length of the rabies virus
- 200 nm — typical size of a Mycoplasma bacterium, among the smallest bacteria
- 300-400 nm — near ultraviolet wavelength
- 300 nm — greatest particle size that can fit through a HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter (N100 removes up to 99.97% at 0.3 micrometres, N95 removes up to 95% at 0.3 micrometres)[citation needed]
- 400–420 nm — wavelength of violet light
- 420–440 nm — wavelength of indigo light
- 440–500 nm — wavelength of blue light
- 500–520 nm — wavelength of cyan light
- 520–565 nm — wavelength of green light
- 565–590 nm — wavelength of yellow light
- 590–625 nm — wavelength of orange light
- 625–700 nm — wavelength of red light
- 700–1400 nm — wavelength of near-infrared radiation
1 micrometre[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Icons_1e-6m_to_1e5m_squares_512pixel.png/220px-Icons_1e-6m_to_1e5m_squares_512pixel.png)
at scales within direct human experience, from the micrometric (10−6 m, top left) to the multi-kilometric (105 m, bottom right).
To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists some items with lengths between 10−6 and 10−5 m (between 1 and 10 micrometres, or µm).
- ~0.7–300 µm — Wavelength of infrared radiation
- 1 µm — the side of square of area 10−12 m2
- 1 µm — edge of cube of volume 10−18 m3 (one femtolitre)
- 1–10 µm — diameter of a typical bacterium
- 1.55 µm — wavelength of light used in optical fibre
- 3–4 µm — size of a typical yeast cell
- 5 µm — length of a typical human spermatozoon's head[22]
- 6 µm — anthrax spore
- 7 µm — diameter of the nucleus of a typical eukaryotic cell
- about 7 μm — diameter of human red blood cells[23]
- 3–8 µm — width of strand of spider web silk[24]
- 8 µm — width of a chloroplast
- 9 µm — thickness of the tape in a 120-minute compact cassette.
- about 10 µm — size of a fog, mist or cloud water droplet
10 micrometres[]
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this page lists lengths between 10−5 and 10−4 m (10 µm and 100 µm).
- 10 µm — width of cotton fibre[25]
- 10 µm — transistor width of the Intel 4004, the world's first commercial microprocessor
- 10 µm — mean longest dimension of a human red blood cell
- 5–20 µm — dust mite excreta[26]
- 10.6 µm — wavelength of light emitted by a carbon dioxide laser
- 15 µm — width of silk fibre
- 16 µm — diameter of a micromirror in a typical Digital micromirror device
- 17 µm — length of a tobacco mosaic virus
- 17 µm — minimum width of a strand of human hair[27]
- 17.6 µm — one twip, a unit of length in typography
- 10 to 55 µm — width of wool fibre[25]
- 25.4 µm — 1/1000 inch, commonly referred to as 1 mil in the U.S. and 1 thou in the UK
- 30–50 µm — diameter of a minicolumn in the human cortex[citation needed]
- 50 µm — typical length of Euglena gracilis, a flagellate protist
- 50 µm — typical length of a human liver cell, an average-sized body cell
- 78 µm — width of a pixel on the display of the iPhone 4, marketed as Retina Display[28]
- 90 µm — paper thickness in average
- 1 myriometre, Distances shorter than 100 µm
100 micrometres[]
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this page lists lengths between 10−4 and 10−3 m (100 µm and 1 mm).
- 100 µm – 1/10 of a millimetre
- 100 µm – 0.00394 inches
- 100 µm – average diameter of a strand of human hair[27]
- 100 µm – thickness of a coat of paint
- 100 µm – length of a dust particle
- 120 µm – diameter of a human ovum
- 170 µm – length of the largest mammalian sperm cell (rat)[29]
- 181 µm – maximum width of a strand of human hair[27]
- 100–400 µm – length of Demodex mites living in human hair follicles
- 200 µm – typical length of Paramecium caudatum, a ciliate protist
- 250–300 µm – length of a dust mite[30]
- 340 µm – length of a single pixel on a 17-inch monitor with a resolution of 1024×768
- 500 µm – typical length of Amoeba proteus, an amoeboid protist
- 500 µm – MEMS micro-engine[citation needed]
- 560 µm - thickness of the central area of a human cornea[31]
- 760 µm – thickness of a credit card
1 millimeter[]
To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 10−3 and 10−2 m (1 mm and 1 cm).
- 1.0 mm — 1/1000 of a metre
- 1.0 mm — 0.03937 inches or 5⁄127 (exactly)
- 1.0 mm — side of square of area 1 mm2
- 1.0 mm — diameter of a pinhead
- 1.5 mm — length of average flea
- 2.54 mm — distance between pins on old DIP (dual-inline-package) electronic components
- 5 mm — length of average red ant
- 5.56×45mm NATO — standard ammunition size
- 7.62×51mm NATO — common military ammunition size
1 centimeter[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Icons_1e-6m_to_1e5m_squares_512pixel.png/220px-Icons_1e-6m_to_1e5m_squares_512pixel.png)
at scales within direct human experience, from the micrometric (10−6 m, top left) to the multi-kilometric (105 m, bottom right).
Lengths between 10−2 and 10−1 m (1 and 10 cm).
- 1 cm — 10 millimetres
- 1 cm — 0.39 inches
- 1 cm — edge of square of area 1 cm2
- 1 cm — edge of cube of volume 1 ml
- 1 cm — approximate width of average fingernail
- 1.5 cm — length of a very large mosquito
- 2 cm — approximate width of an adult human finger
- 2.54 cm — 1 inch
- 3.1 cm — 1 attoparsec (10−18 parsecs)
- 3.5 cm — width of film commonly used in motion pictures and still photography
- 4.3 cm — minimum diameter of a golf ball[32]
- 7.3-7.5 cm — diameter of a baseball[33]
- 8.6 cm × 5.4 cm — dimensions of a typical credit card[34]
1 decimetre[]
Lengths between 10 and 100 centimetres (10−1 and 1 metre).
Conversions[]
10 centimetres (abbreviated to 10 cm) is equal to
- 1 decimetre (dm), a term not in common use
- 100 millimetres
- 3.9 inches
- A side of a square of area 0.01 m2[note 1]
- The edge of a cube with a volume of 1×10−3 m3[note 1] (one litre)
Wavelengths[]
- 10 cm = 1.0 dm[note 1] – wavelength of the highest UHF radio frequency, 3 GHz
- 12 cm = 1.2 dm – wavelength of the 2.45 GHz ISM radio band
- 21 cm = 2.1 dm – wavelength of the 1.4 GHz hydrogen emission line, a hyperfine transition of the hydrogen atom
- 100 cm = 10 dm – wavelength of the lowest UHF radio frequency, 300 MHz
Human-defined scales and structures[]
- 10.16 cm = 1.016 dm — 1 hand used in measuring height of horses (4 inches)
- 12 cm = 1.2 dm — diameter of a Compact Disc (CD) (= 120 mm)
- 15 cm = 1.5 dm — length of a Bic pen with cap on
- 22 cm = 2.2 dm — diameter of a typical soccer ball
- 30.48 cm = 3.048 dm — 1 foot
- 30 cm = 3 dm — typical school-use ruler length (= 300 mm)
- 60 cm = 6 dm — standard depth (front to back) of a domestic kitchen worktop in Europe (= 600 mm)
- 90 cm = 9 dm — average length of a rapier, a fencing sword[35]
- 91.44 cm = 9.144 dm — one yard
- Cigarettes 100 mm (4 in) in length
Nature[]
- 10 cm = 1 dm — diameter of the human cervix upon entering the second stage of labour[citation needed]
- 15 cm = 1.5 dm — approximate size of largest beetle species[citation needed]
- 29 cm = 2.9 dm — length of average human foot[citation needed]
- 29.98 cm = distance light travels in one nanosecond
- 31 cm = 3.1 dm — wingspan of largest butterfly species Ornithoptera alexandrae[citation needed]
- 56 cm = 5.6 dm — the length of the average erect horse pеnis
- 50 to 65 cm — a pizote's tail[citation needed]
- 66 cm — length of the longest pine cones (produced by the sugar pine[36])
Longer[]
- 1 metre
- 1 decametre
- 1 hectometre
- 1 kilometre
- 1 myriametre
- 100 kilometres
- 1 megametre
- 10 megametres
- 100 megametres
1 gigametre[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Wide_panorama_lengths_1e6m_to_1e17m_-_Pluto_globe_to_Messier_5.png)
Lengths starting at 109 metres (1 gigametre (Gm) or 1 million kilometres).
Distances shorter than 109 metres
- 1.4 Gm — Diameter of Sun[37]
- 1.5 Gm — (proposed) Expected orbit from Earth of the James Webb Space Telescope
- 2.19 Gm — Closest approach of Comet Lexell to Earth, happened on 1 July 1770; closest comet approach on record
- 3 Gm — Total length of "wiring" in the human brain.[38]
- 4.2 Gm — Diameter of Algol B
- 5.0 Gm — Closest approach of Comet Halley to Earth, happened on 10 April 837
- 5.0 Gm — (proposed) Size of the arms of the giant triangle shaped Michelson interferometer of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) planned to start observations in or around 2015.
- 7.9 Gm — Diameter of Gamma Orionis
- 9.0 Gm — Estimated diameter of the event horizon of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way galaxy
Longer[]
- 10 gigametres
- 100 gigametres
- 1 terametre
- 10 terametres
- 100 terametres
- 1 petametre
- 10 petametres
- 100 petametres
- 1 exametre
- 10 exametres
- 100 exametres
- 1 zettametre
- 10 zettametres
- 100 zettametres
- 1 yottametre
- 10 yottametres
- 100 yottametres
See also[]
Notes[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c m is an abbreviation of metre; cm of centimetre; dm of decimetre; m2 is short for square metre; m3 is short for cubic metre
References[]
- ^ Nave, Carl R. "Cowan and Reines Neutrino Experiment". Retrieved 2008-12-04. (6.3×10−44 cm2, which gives an effective radius of about 2×10−23 m)
- ^ Pohl, Randolf; Antognini, Aldo; Nez, François; Amaro, Fernando D.; Biraben, François; Cardoso, João M. R.; Covita, Daniel S.; Dax, Andreas; Dhawan, Satish; Fernandes, Luis M. P.; Giesen, Adolf; Graf, Thomas; Hänsch, Theodor W.; Indelicato, Paul; Julien, Lucile; Kao, Cheng-Yang; Knowles, Paul; Le Bigot, Eric-Olivier; Liu, Yi-Wei; Lopes, José A. M.; Ludhova, Livia; Cristina M. B. Monteiro; Mulhauser, Françoise; Nebel, Tobias; Rabinowitz, Paul; et al. (8 July 2010). "The size of the proton". Nature. 466 (7303): 213–216. Bibcode:2010Natur.466..213P. doi:10.1038/nature09250. PMID 20613837.
- ^ NIST. CODATA Value: classical electron radius. Retrieved 2009-02-10
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Winter, Mark (2008). "WebElements Periodic Table of the Elements / Hydrogen / radii". Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Winter, Mark (2008). "WebElements Periodic Table of the Elements / Helium / radii". Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ http://rdmag.com/Community/Blogs/RDBlog/Twists-and-turns-keep-TEM-on-top/
- ^ Winter, Mark (2008). "WebElements Periodic Table of the Elements / Sulfur / Radii". Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ Winter, Mark (2008). "WebElements Periodic Table of the Elements / Periodicity / Van der Waals radius / periodicity". Archived from the original on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ "Resolution of an Electron Microscope". Archived from the original on 2009-03-16. Retrieved 2009-04-25.
- ^ Smith, Graham T. (2002). Industrial metrology. Springer. pp. 253. ISBN 978-1-85233-507-6.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Annis, Patty J. October 1991. Kansas State University. Fine Particle POLLUTION. Figure 1. (tobacco smoke: 10 to 1000 nm; virus particles: 3 to 50 nm; bacteria: 30 to 30000 nm; cooking oil smoke: 30 to 30000 nm; wood smoke: 7 to 3000 nm)
- ^ Introduction to the Electromagnetic Spectrum and Spectroscopy
- ^ Stryer, Lubert (1988). Biochemistry. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. ISBN 0-7167-1843-X.
- ^ Kojima S, Blair D (2004). "The bacterial flagellar motor: structure and function of a complex molecular machine". Int Rev Cytol. International Review of Cytology. 233: 93–134. doi:10.1016/S0074-7696(04)33003-2. ISBN 978-0-12-364637-8. PMID 15037363.
- ^ Microbiology Text.com
- ^ http://www.physorg.com/news172852816.html accessed 2009.09.21
- ^ "Hard drive basics: Capacities, RPM speeds, interfaces and mechanics". Help With PCs.
- ^ Electrospray versus Nebulization for Aerosolization and Filter Testing with Bacteriophage Particles. Aerosol Science and Technology, Volume 43, Issue 4 April 2009, pages 298 - 304.
- ^ Sinha, Sanjeev; Bhoveshwaranath, G; Gupta, Sneha. "Antiretroviral Drugs and Drug Therapy of HIV/AIDS". In Seth, SD; Seth, Vimlesh (eds.). Textbook Of Pharmacology. p. X.111.
- ^ Smith, D.J. (2009). "Human sperm accumulation near surfaces: a simulation study" (PDF). Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 621: 295. Bibcode:2009JFM...621..289S. doi:10.1017/S0022112008004953. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ^ DNA From The Beginning, section 6: Genes are real things., "Amination" section, final slide
- ^ Ramel, Gordon. "Spider Silk". Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
garden spider silk has a diameter of about 0.003 mm ... Dragline silk (about .00032 inch (.008 mm) in Nephila)
- ^ Jump up to: a b IST - Innovative Sintering Technologies Ltd. "Fibreshape applications". Retrieved 2008-12-04.
Histogram of cotton thickness
- ^ Lippmann, Morton (2000). Environmental Toxicants: Human Exposures and Their Health Effects. John Wiley and Sons. p. 453. ISBN 0-471-29298-2. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
20 µm .. 5 µm
- ^ Jump up to: a b c The diameter of a human hair ranges from 17 to 181 µm. Ley, Brian (1999). Elert, Glenn (ed.). "Diameter of a human hair". The Physics Factbook. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
- ^ "Apple – iPhone 4S – See everything clearly with the Retina display". Apple Inc. Official Website. Apple Inc. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
- ^ Lindemann, Charles. "Sperm Facts". Dr. Charles Lindmann's Lab. Oakland University.
- ^ Lyon, William F. "House Dust Mites". Ohio State University Extension. HYG-2157-97. Archived from the original on 2 November 2001.
- ^ Liu, Z.; Huang, A. J.; Pflugfelder, S. C. (July 1999). "Evaluation of corneal thickness and topography in normal eyes using the Orbscan corneal topography system". Br J Ophthalmol. 83 (7): 774–8. doi:10.1136/bjo.83.7.774. PMC 1723104. PMID 10381661.
- ^ "USGA: Guide to the Rules on Clubs and Balls". USGA. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
- ^ "Official Rules". MLB. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
- ^ "Credit Card Dimensions". Retrieved 2011-09-30.
- ^ http://www.2-clicks-swords.com/article/what-is-a-rapier.html
- ^ Kinloch, Bohun B. Jr. & Scheuner, William H. "Pinus lambertiana". Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
- ^ Sun Fact Sheet
- ^ Neuroscience: The Science of the Brain "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-02-02. Retrieved 2011-06-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) p.44
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