The following are examples of
orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
for different
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s.
Overview
Detailed list
To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various lengths between
metres and
metres.
Subatomic scale
Atomic to cellular scale
Cellular to human scale
Human to astronomical scale
Astronomical scale
1 quectometre and less
The ' (
SI symbol: ') is a
unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the
metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to .
To help compare different
orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s shorter than 10
−30 m (1 qm).
*1.6 × 10
−5 quectometres (1.6 × 10
−35 metres) – the
Planck length
In particle physics and physical cosmology, Planck units are a system of units of measurement defined exclusively in terms of four universal physical constants: '' c'', '' G'', '' ħ'', and ''k''B (described further below). Expressing one of ...
(Measures of distance shorter than this do not make physical sense, according to current theories of
physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
.)
*1 qm – 1 quectometre, the smallest named subdivision of the metre in the
SI base unit
The SI base units are the standard units of measurement defined by the International System of Units (SI) for the seven base quantities of what is now known as the International System of Quantities: they are notably a basic set from which al ...
of length, one nonillionth of a metre.
1 rontometre
The ' (
SI symbol: ') is a
unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the
metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to .
*1 rm – 1 rontometre, a subdivision of the metre in the
SI base unit
The SI base units are the standard units of measurement defined by the International System of Units (SI) for the seven base quantities of what is now known as the International System of Quantities: they are notably a basic set from which al ...
of length, one octillionth of a metre.
10 rontometres
*10 rm – the length of one side of a square whose area is one
shed
A shed is typically a simple, single-storey (though some sheds may have two or more stories and or a loft) roofed structure, often used for storage, for hobby, hobbies, or as a workshop, and typically serving as outbuilding, such as in a bac ...
, a unit of
target cross section used in
nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter.
Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...
1 yoctometre
The ' (
SI symbol: ') is a
unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the
metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to .
*2 ym – the effective cross-section radius of 1
MeV neutrino
A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter ) is an elementary particle that interacts via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass is so small ('' -ino'') that i ...
s as measured by
Clyde Cowan
Clyde Lorrain Cowan Jr (December 6, 1919 – May 24, 1974) was an American physicist and the co-discoverer of the neutrino along with Frederick Reines. The discovery was made in 1956 in the neutrino experiment. Reines received the Nobel Prize in ...
and
Frederick Reines
Frederick Reines ( ; March 16, 1918 – August 26, 1998) was an American physicist. He was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics for his co-detection of the neutrino with Clyde Cowan in the neutrino experiment. He may be the only scientist in ...
.
1 zeptometre
The ' (
SI symbol: ') is a
unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the
metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to .
To help compare different
orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 10
−21 m and 10
−20 m (1 zm and 10 zm).
*2 zm – the upper bound for the width of a
cosmic string in string theory.
*2 zm – radius of effective
cross section for a
20 GeV neutrino
A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter ) is an elementary particle that interacts via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass is so small ('' -ino'') that i ...
scattering off a
nucleon
In physics and chemistry, a nucleon is either a proton or a neutron, considered in its role as a component of an atomic nucleus. The number of nucleons in a nucleus defines the atom's mass number.
Until the 1960s, nucleons were thought to be ele ...
*7 zm – radius of effective cross section for a
250 GeV neutrino scattering off a nucleon
10 zeptometres
To help compare different
orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 10
−20 m and 10
−19 m (10
zm and 100 zm).
100 zeptometres
To help compare different
orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists lengths between 10
−19 m and 10
−18 m (100
zm and 1
am).
*177 zm –
de Broglie wavelength
Matter waves are a central part of the theory of quantum mechanics, being half of wave–particle duality. At all scales where measurements have been practical, matter exhibits wave-like behavior. For example, a beam of electrons can be diffract ...
of
protons
A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' ( elementary charge). Its mass is slightly less than the mass of a neutron and approximately times the mass of an electron (the pro ...
at the
Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It was built by the CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008, in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists, ...
(7 TeV as of 2010)
1 attometre
The ' (
SI symbol: ') is a
unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the
metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to .
To help compare different
orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 10
−18 m and 10
−17 m (1 am and 10 am).
*1 am – sensitivity of the
LIGO
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory designed to detect cosmic gravitational waves and to develop gravitational-wave observations as an astronomical tool. Prior to LIG ...
detector for
gravitational wave
Gravitational waves are oscillations of the gravitational field that Wave propagation, travel through space at the speed of light; they are generated by the relative motion of gravity, gravitating masses. They were proposed by Oliver Heaviside i ...
s
*1 am – upper limit for the size of
quark
A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei ...
s and
electron
The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...
s
10 attometres
To help compare different
orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 10
−17 m and 10
−16 m (10
am and 100 am).
*10–100 am – range of the weak force
*86 am – charge radius of a
Bottom eta meson
100 attometres
To help compare different
orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists lengths between 10
−16 m and 10
−15 m (100
am and 1
fm).
*831 am – approximate proton radius
1 femtometre (or 1 fermi)
The ' (
SI symbol: ') is a
unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the
metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to .
In
particle physics
Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...
, this unit is sometimes called a
, also with abbreviation "fm". To help compare different
orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 10
−15 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s and 10
−14 metres (1 femtometre and 10 fm).
*1 fm – diametre of a
neutron
The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , that has no electric charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. The Discovery of the neutron, neutron was discovered by James Chadwick in 1932, leading to the discovery of nucle ...
, approximate range-limit of the
color force
Color Force is an American independent film and television production company founded in 2007 by producer and film executive Nina Jacobson after her 2006 termination as president of Disney's Walt Disney Studios (division), Buena Vista Motion P ...
carried between
quark
A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei ...
s by
gluon
A gluon ( ) is a type of Massless particle, massless elementary particle that mediates the strong interaction between quarks, acting as the exchange particle for the interaction. Gluons are massless vector bosons, thereby having a Spin (physi ...
s
[
*1.5 fm – diametre of the ]scattering cross section
In physics, the cross section is a measure of the probability that a specific process will take place in a collision of two particles. For example, the Rutherford cross-section is a measure of probability that an alpha particle will be deflect ...
of an 11 MeV proton
A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , Hydron (chemistry), H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' (elementary charge). Its mass is slightly less than the mass of a neutron and approximately times the mass of an e ...
with a target proton
*1.75 fm – the effective charge diametre of a proton
A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , Hydron (chemistry), H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' (elementary charge). Its mass is slightly less than the mass of a neutron and approximately times the mass of an e ...
*2.81794 fm – classical electron radius
The classical electron radius is a combination of fundamental Physical quantity, physical quantities that define a length scale for problems involving an electron interacting with electromagnetic radiation. It links the classical electrostatic sel ...
*3 fm – approximate range-limit of the nuclear binding force mediated by meson
In particle physics, a meson () is a type of hadronic subatomic particle composed of an equal number of quarks and antiquarks, usually one of each, bound together by the strong interaction. Because mesons are composed of quark subparticles, the ...
s[
*7 fm – the radius of the effective scattering cross section for a gold nucleus scattering a 6 MeV ]alpha particle
Alpha particles, also called alpha rays or alpha radiation, consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium-4 nucleus. They are generally produced in the process of alpha decay but may also be produce ...
over 140 degrees
10 femtometres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 10−14 m and 10−13 m (10 fm and 100 fm).
*1.75 to 15 fm – diametre range of the atomic nucleus
The atomic nucleus is the small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford at the Department_of_Physics_and_Astronomy,_University_of_Manchester , University of Manchester ...
*10 fm – the length of one side of a square whose area is one barn
A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G ...
(10−28 m2), a unit of target cross section used in nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter.
Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...
*30.8568 fm – 1 quectoparsec (10−30 parsecs
The parsec (symbol: pc) is a unit of length used to measure the large distances to astronomical objects outside the Solar System, approximately equal to or (AU), i.e. . The parsec unit is obtained by the use of parallax and trigonometry, and ...
)
100 femtometres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists lengths between 10−13 m and 10−12 m (100 fm and 1 pm).
*570 fm – typical distance from the atomic nucleus of the two innermost electrons (electrons in the ''1s'' shell) in the uranium
Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
atom, the heaviest naturally-occurring atom
1 picometre
The ' ( SI symbol: ''pm'') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to ().
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
this section lists length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 10−12 and 10−11 m (1 pm and 10 pm).
*1 pm – distance between atomic nuclei
The atomic nucleus is the small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford at the University of Manchester based on the 1909 Geiger–Marsden gold foil experiment. Aft ...
in a white dwarf
A white dwarf is a Compact star, stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very density, dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclear fusion takes place i ...
*1 pm – reference value of particle displacement in acoustics
*2.4 pm – the Compton wavelength
The Compton wavelength is a quantum mechanical property of a particle, defined as the wavelength of a photon whose energy is the same as the rest energy of that particle (see mass–energy equivalence). It was introduced by Arthur Compton in 1 ...
of an electron
The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...
*5 pm – shorter X-ray
An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...
wavelengths (approx.)
10 picometres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
this section lists length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 10−11 and 10−10 m (10 pm and 100 pm).
*25 pm – approximate radius of a helium atom, the smallest neutral atom
*30.8568 pm – 1 rontoparsec
*50 pm – radius of a hydrogen atom
*50 pm – bohr radius
The Bohr radius () is a physical constant, approximately equal to the most probable distance between the nucleus and the electron in a hydrogen atom in its ground state. It is named after Niels Bohr, due to its role in the Bohr model of an at ...
: approximate radius of a hydrogen atom
*~50 pm – best resolution of a high-resolution transmission electron microscope
*60 pm – radius of a carbon atom
*93 pm – length of a diatomic carbon
Diatomic carbon (systematically named dicarbon and 1λ2,2λ2-ethene), is a green, gaseous inorganic chemical with the chemical formula C=C (also written 2or C2). It is kinetically unstable at ambient temperature and pressure, being removed throug ...
molecule
*96 pm – H–O bond length in a water
Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
molecule
100 picometres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
this section lists length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 10−10 and 10−9 m (100 pm and 1 nm; 1 Å and 10 Å).
*100 pm – 1 ångström
The angstrom (; ) is a unit of length equal to m; that is, one ten- billionth of a metre, a hundred-millionth of a centimetre, 0.1 nanometre, or 100 picometres. The unit is named after the Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Ångström (1814� ...
*100 pm – covalent radius
The covalent radius, ''r''cov, is a measure of the size of an atom that forms part of one covalent bond. It is usually measured either in picometres (pm) or angstroms (Å), with 1 Å = 100 pm.
In principle, the sum of the two cova ...
of sulfur
Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...
atom
*120 pm – van der Waals radius
The van der Waals radius, ''r'', of an atom is the radius of an imaginary hard sphere representing the distance of closest approach for another atom.
It is named after Johannes Diderik van der Waals, winner of the 1910 Nobel Prize in Physics ...
of a neutral hydrogen
Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
atom
*120 pm – radius of a gold atom
*126 pm – covalent radius of ruthenium
Ruthenium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ru and atomic number 44. It is a rare transition metal belonging to the platinum group of the periodic table. Like the other metals of the platinum group, ruthenium is unreactive to most chem ...
atom
*135 pm – covalent radius of technetium
Technetium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Tc and atomic number 43. It is the lightest element whose isotopes are all radioactive. Technetium and promethium are the only radioactive elements whose neighbours in the sense ...
atom
*150 pm – length of a typical covalent bond
A covalent bond is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electrons to form electron pairs between atoms. These electron pairs are known as shared pairs or bonding pairs. The stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atom ...
( C–C)
*153 pm – covalent radius of silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
atom
*155 pm – covalent radius of zirconium
Zirconium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Zr and atomic number 40. First identified in 1789, isolated in impure form in 1824, and manufactured at scale by 1925, pure zirconium is a lustrous transition metal with a greyis ...
atom
*175 pm – covalent radius of thulium
Thulium is a chemical element; it has symbol Tm and atomic number 69. It is the thirteenth element in the lanthanide series of metals. It is the second-least abundant lanthanide in the Earth's crust, after radioactively unstable promethium. It i ...
atom
*200 pm – highest resolution of a typical electron microscope
An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing it ...
*225 pm – covalent radius of caesium
Caesium (IUPAC spelling; also spelled cesium in American English) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cs and atomic number 55. It is a soft, silvery-golden alkali metal with a melting point of , which makes it one of only f ...
atom
*280 pm – average size of the water
Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
molecule
*298 pm – radius of a caesium
Caesium (IUPAC spelling; also spelled cesium in American English) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cs and atomic number 55. It is a soft, silvery-golden alkali metal with a melting point of , which makes it one of only f ...
atom, calculated to be the largest atomic radius
*340 pm – thickness of single layer graphene
Graphene () is a carbon allotrope consisting of a Single-layer materials, single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, honeycomb planar nanostructure. The name "graphene" is derived from "graphite" and the suffix -ene, indicating ...
*356.68 pm – width of diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
unit cell
In geometry, biology, mineralogy and solid state physics, a unit cell is a repeating unit formed by the vectors spanning the points of a lattice. Despite its suggestive name, the unit cell (unlike a unit vector
In mathematics, a unit vector i ...
*403 pm – width of lithium fluoride
Lithium fluoride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula LiF. It is a colorless solid that transitions to white with decreasing crystal size.
Its structure is analogous to that of sodium chloride, but it is much less soluble in water. ...
unit cell
*500 pm – Width of protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...
α helix
*543 pm – silicon lattice spacing
*560 pm – width of sodium chloride
Sodium chloride , commonly known as Salt#Edible salt, edible salt, is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. It is transparent or translucent, brittle, hygroscopic, and occurs a ...
unit cell
*700 pm – width of glucose
Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...
molecule
*700 pm – diametre of a buckyball
*780 pm – mean width of quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...
unit cell
*820 pm – mean width of ice
Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...
unit cell
*900 pm – mean width of coesite
Coesite () is a form (polymorphism (materials science), polymorph) of silicon dioxide (silicon, Sioxide, O2) that is formed when very high pressure (2–3 gigapascals), and moderately high temperature (), are applied to quartz. Coesite was first ...
unit cell
1 nanometre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to ().
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists lengths between 10−9 and 10−8 m (1 nm and 10 nm).
*1 nm – diametre of a carbon nanotube
A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a tube made of carbon with a diameter in the nanometre range ( nanoscale). They are one of the allotropes of carbon. Two broad classes of carbon nanotubes are recognized:
* ''Single-walled carbon nanotubes'' (''S ...
*1 nm – roughly the length of a sucrose
Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula .
For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...
molecule, calculated by Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
*2.3 nm – length of a phospholipid
Phospholipids are a class of lipids whose molecule has a hydrophilic "head" containing a phosphate group and two hydrophobic "tails" derived from fatty acids, joined by an alcohol residue (usually a glycerol molecule). Marine phospholipids typ ...
*2.3 nm – smallest gate
A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*gatan'', meaning an opening or passageway. Synonyms include yett (which comes from the same root w ...
oxide thickness in microprocessor
A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...
s
*3 nm – width of a DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
helix
*3 nm – flying height of the head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...
of a hard disk
A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating hard disk drive platter, pla ...
*3 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured circa 2022
*3.4 nm – length of a DNA turn (10 bp)
*3.8 nm – size of an albumin
Albumin is a family of globular proteins, the most common of which are the serum albumins. All of the proteins of the albumin family are water- soluble, moderately soluble in concentrated salt solutions, and experience heat denaturation. Alb ...
molecule
*5 nm – size of the gate length of a 16 nm processor
*5 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured circa 2019–2020
*6 nm – length of a phospholipid
Phospholipids are a class of lipids whose molecule has a hydrophilic "head" containing a phosphate group and two hydrophobic "tails" derived from fatty acids, joined by an alcohol residue (usually a glycerol molecule). Marine phospholipids typ ...
bilayer
*6–10 nm – thickness of cell membrane
*6.8 nm – width of a haemoglobin
Hemoglobin (haemoglobin, Hb or Hgb) is a protein containing iron that facilitates the transportation of oxygen in red blood cells. Almost all vertebrates contain hemoglobin, with the sole exception of the fish family Channichthyidae. Hemoglobi ...
molecule
*7 nm – diametre of actin filaments
Microfilaments, also called actin filaments, are protein filaments in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells that form part of the cytoskeleton. They are primarily composed of polymers of actin, but are modified by and interact with numerous other p ...
*7 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured circa 2018
*10 nm – thickness of cell wall
A cell wall is a structural layer that surrounds some Cell type, cell types, found immediately outside the cell membrane. It can be tough, flexible, and sometimes rigid. Primarily, it provides the cell with structural support, shape, protection, ...
in Gram
The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one thousandth of a kilogram.
Originally defined in 1795 as "the absolute Mass versus weight, weight of a volume ...
-negative bacteria
Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...
10 nanometres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
this section lists length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 10−8 and 10−7 m (10 nm and 100 nm).
*10 nm Shortest extreme ultraviolet
Extreme ultraviolet radiation (EUV or XUV) or high-energy ultraviolet radiation is electromagnetic radiation in the part of the electromagnetic spectrum spanning wavelengths shorter than the hydrogen Lyman-alpha line from 121 nm down to ...
wavelength or longest X-ray
An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...
wavelength[Introduction to the Electromagnetic Spectrum and Spectroscopy](_blank)
/ref>
*10 nm – the average length of a nanowire
file:[email protected], upright=1.2, Crystalline 2×2-atom tin selenide nanowire grown inside a single-wall carbon nanotube (tube diameter ≈1 nm).
A nanowire is a nanostructure in the form of a wire with the diameter of the order of a nanometre ( ...
*10 nm – lower size of tobacco smoke[Annis, Patty J. October 1991. ]Kansas State University
Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...
. ''Fine Particle POLLUTION''. Figure 1. (tobacco smoke: 10 to ; virus particles: 3 to 50 nm; bacteria: 30 to ; cooking oil smoke: 30 to ; wood smoke: 7 to )
*10 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured circa 2016 –2017
*13 nm – the length of the wavelength that is used for EUV lithography
*14 nm – length of a porcine circovirus
*14 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured circa 2013
*15 nm – length of an antibody
*18 nm – diametre of tobacco mosaic virus
Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus species in the genus '' Tobamovirus'' that infects a wide range of plants, especially tobacco and other members of the family Solanaceae. The infection causes characteris ...
*20 nm – length of a nanobe, could be one of the smallest forms of life
*20–80 nm – thickness of cell wall
A cell wall is a structural layer that surrounds some Cell type, cell types, found immediately outside the cell membrane. It can be tough, flexible, and sometimes rigid. Primarily, it provides the cell with structural support, shape, protection, ...
in Gram-positive bacteria
In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall.
The Gram stain ...
*20 nm – thickness of bacteria
Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...
l flagellum
A flagellum (; : flagella) (Latin for 'whip' or 'scourge') is a hair-like appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, from fungal spores ( zoospores), and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many pr ...
*22 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured circa 2011–2012
*22 nm – smallest feature size of production microprocessor
A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...
s in September 2009
*25 nm – diametre of a microtubule
Microtubules are polymers of tubulin that form part of the cytoskeleton and provide structure and shape to eukaryotic cells. Microtubules can be as long as 50 micrometres, as wide as 23 to 27 nanometer, nm and have an inner diameter bet ...
*30 nm – lower size of cooking oil smoke
*30.8568 nm – 1 yoctoparsec
*32 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured circa 2009–2010
*40 nm – extreme ultraviolet
Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of ...
wavelength
*45 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured circa 2007–2008
*50 nm – upper size for airborne virus
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...
particles
*50 nm – flying height of the head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...
of a hard disk
A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating hard disk drive platter, pla ...
*65 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured circa 2005–2006
*58 nm – height of a T7 bacteriophage
*90 nm – human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (generally, virus
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...
es range in size from 20 nm to 450 nm)
*90 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured circa 2002–2003
*100 nm – Length of a mesoporous silica
Mesoporous silica is a form of silica that is characterised by its mesoporous structure, that is, having pores that range from 2 nm to 50 nm in diameter. According to IUPAC's terminology, mesoporosity sits between microporous (50 ...
nanoparticle
100 nanometres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 10−7 and 10−6 m (100 nm and 1 μm).
*100 nm – greatest particle size that can fit through a surgical mask
A surgical mask, also known by other names such as a medical face mask or procedure mask, is a personal protective equipment used by healthcare professionals that serves as a mechanical barrier that interferes with direct airflow in and out of r ...
*100 nm – 90% of particles in wood smoke
Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...
are smaller than this.
*120 nm – greatest particle size that can fit through a ULPA filter
*120 nm – diametre of a human immunodeficiency virus
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of th ...
(HIV)
*120 nm – approximate diametre of SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had the Novel coronavirus, provisional nam ...
*125 nm – standard depth of pits on compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...
s (width: 500 nm, length: 850 nm to 3.5 μm)
*180 nm – typical length of the rabies virus
Rabies virus (''Lyssavirus rabies'') is a neurotropic virus that causes rabies in animals, including humans. It can cause violence, hydrophobia, and fever. Rabies transmission can also occur through the saliva of animals and less commonly throu ...
*200 nm – typical size of a ''Mycoplasma
''Mycoplasma'' is a genus of bacteria that, like the other members of the class ''Mollicutes'', lack a cell wall, and its peptidoglycan, around their cell membrane. The absence of peptidoglycan makes them naturally resistant to antibiotics ...
'' bacterium, among the smallest bacteria
*300 nm – greatest particle size that can fit through a HEPA
HEPA (, high efficiency particulate air) filter, also known as a high efficiency particulate arresting filter, is an efficiency standard of air filters.
Filters meeting the HEPA standard must satisfy certain levels of efficiency. Common standa ...
(high efficiency particulate air) filter (N100 removes up to 99.97% at 300 nm, N95 removes up to 95% at 300 nm)
*300–400 nm – near ultraviolet
Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of ...
wavelength
*400–420 nm – wavelength of violet light (see Color
Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...
and Visible spectrum
The visible spectrum is the spectral band, band of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visual perception, visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called ''visible light'' (or simply light).
The optica ...
)
*420–440 nm – wavelength of indigo
InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...
light
*440–500 nm – wavelength of blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...
light
*500–520 nm – wavelength of cyan
Cyan () is the color between blue and green on the visible spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a predominant wavelength between 500 and 520 nm, between the wavelengths of green and blue.
In the subtractive color system, or CMYK c ...
light
*520–565 nm – wavelength of green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
light
*565–590 nm – wavelength of yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...
light
*590–625 nm – wavelength of orange light
*625–700 nm – wavelength of red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
light
*700–1.4 μm – wavelength of near-infrared
Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those of ...
radiation
1 micrometre (or 1 micron)
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to ().
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists some items with lengths between 10−6 and 10−5 m (between 1 and 10 micrometre
The micrometre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a uni ...
s, or μm).
*~0.7–300 μm – wavelength of infrared radiation
Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...
*1 μm – the side of a square
In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
of area 10−12 m2
*1 μm – edge of cube
A cube or regular hexahedron is a three-dimensional space, three-dimensional solid object in geometry, which is bounded by six congruent square (geometry), square faces, a type of polyhedron. It has twelve congruent edges and eight vertices. It i ...
of volume 10−18 m3 (1 fL)
*1–10 μm – diametre of a typical bacterium
Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the ...
*1 μm – length of a lysosome
A lysosome () is a membrane-bound organelle that is found in all mammalian cells, with the exception of red blood cells (erythrocytes). There are normally hundreds of lysosomes in the cytosol, where they function as the cell’s degradation cent ...
*1–2 μm – anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...
spore
*2 μm – length of an average E. coli
''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escherichia'' that is commonly foun ...
bacteria
*3–4 μm – size of a typical yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...
cell
*5 μm – length of a typical human spermatozoon
A spermatozoon (; also spelled spermatozoön; : spermatozoa; ) is a motile sperm cell (biology), cell produced by male animals relying on internal fertilization. A spermatozoon is a moving form of the ploidy, haploid cell (biology), cell that is ...
's head
*6 μm – thickness of the tape in a 120-minute (C120) compact cassette
The Compact Cassette, also commonly called a cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens and his team at the Dutch company ...
*7 μm – diametre of the nucleus of a typical eukaryotic cell
*about 7 μm – diametre of human red blood cell
Red blood cells (RBCs), referred to as erythrocytes (, with -''cyte'' translated as 'cell' in modern usage) in academia and medical publishing, also known as red cells, erythroid cells, and rarely haematids, are the most common type of blood cel ...
s
*3–8 μm – width of strand of spider web silk
*5–10 μm – width of a chloroplast
A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle, organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant cell, plant and algae, algal cells. Chloroplasts have a high concentration of chlorophyll pigments which captur ...
*8–11 μm – size of a ground-level fog or mist droplet[But not ]cloud
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles, suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may ...
or high-level fog droplets; droplet size increases with altitude. For a contradictory study indicating larger drop sizes even in ground fog, see
*7–12 μm – the diametre of human white blood cell
White blood cells (scientific name leukocytes), also called immune cells or immunocytes, are cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign entities. White blood cells are genera ...
s
*8–10 μm – the diametre of human macrophage
Macrophages (; abbreviated MPhi, φ, MΦ or MP) are a type of white blood cell of the innate immune system that engulf and digest pathogens, such as cancer cells, microbes, cellular debris and foreign substances, which do not have proteins that ...
s
10 micrometres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 10−5 m and 10−4 m (10 μm and 100 μm).
*10 μm – width of cotton
Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
fibre
*10 μm – tolerance of a Lego
Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...
brick
*10 μm – transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch electrical signals and electric power, power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semicondu ...
width of the Intel 4004
The Intel 4004 was part of the 4 chip MCS-4 micro computer set, released by the Intel, Intel Corporation in November 1971; the 4004 being part of the first commercially marketed microprocessor chipset, and the first in a long line of List of I ...
, the world's first commercial microprocessor
A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...
*10 μm – mean longest dimension of a human red blood cell
Red blood cells (RBCs), referred to as erythrocytes (, with -''cyte'' translated as 'cell' in modern usage) in academia and medical publishing, also known as red cells, erythroid cells, and rarely haematids, are the most common type of blood cel ...
*5–20 μm – dust mite excreta
*10.6 μm – wavelength of light emitted by a carbon dioxide laser
The carbon-dioxide laser (CO2 laser) was one of the earliest gas lasers to be developed. It was invented by C. Kumar N. Patel, Kumar Patel of Bell Labs in 1964 and is still one of the most useful types of laser. Carbon dioxide, Carbon-dioxide lase ...
*15 μm – width of silk
Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
fibre
*17 μm – minimum width of a strand of human hair
*17.6 μm – one twip
A twip (abbreviating "twentieth of a point" or "twentieth of an inch point") is a typographical measurement, defined as of a typographical point. One twip is inch, or 17.64 μm.
In computing
Twips are screen-independent units to ...
, a unit of length in typography
*10 to 55 μm – width of wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...
fibre
*25.4 μm – 1/1,000 inch, commonly referred to as 1 mil in the U.S. and 1 thou
The word ''thou'' () is a second-person singular pronoun in English. It is now largely archaic, having been replaced in most contexts by the word '' you'', although it remains in use in parts of Northern England and in Scots (). ''Thou' ...
in the U.K.
*30 μm – length of a human skin cell
*30.8568 μm – 1 zeptoparsec
*50 μm – typical length of ''Euglena gracilis
''Euglena gracilis'' is a freshwater species of euglenid, a microscopic type of algae, in the genus ''Euglena''. It has secondary chloroplasts, and is a mixotroph able to feed by photosynthesis or phagocytosis. It has a highly flexible cell surf ...
'', a flagellate protist
*50 μm – typical length of a human liver
The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...
cell, an average-sized body cell
*50 μm – length of a silt
Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...
particle
*60 μm – length of a sperm cell
Sperm (: sperm or sperms) is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail k ...
*78 μm — width of a pixel on the display of the iPhone 4, marketed as Retina Display
Retina display is a branded series of LCDs and OLED displays by Apple Inc. that have a higher pixel density than their traditional displays. Apple has registered the term "Retina" as a trademark with regard to computers and mobile devices with t ...
*70 to 180 μm – thickness of paper
100 micrometres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 10−4 m and 10−3 m (100 μm and 1 mm). The term ''myriometre'' (abbr. mom, equivalent to 100 micrometres; frequently confused with the '' myriametre'', 10 kilometres) is deprecated; the decimal metric prefix myrio- is obsolete and was not included among the prefixes
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Particularly in the study of languages, a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the word to which it is affixed.
Prefixes, like other affixes, can b ...
when the International System of Units
The International System of Units, internationally known by the abbreviation SI (from French ), is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. It is the only system of measurement with official s ...
was introduced in 1960.
*100 μm – 1/10 of a millimetre
*100 μm – 0.00394 inches
*100 μm – smallest distance that can be seen with the naked eye
Naked eye, also called bare eye or unaided eye, is the practice of engaging in visual perception unaided by a magnification, magnifying, Optical telescope#Light-gathering power, light-collecting optical instrument, such as a telescope or microsc ...
*100 μm – average diametre of a strand of human hair
Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals.
The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...
*100 μm – thickness of a coat of paint
Paint is a material or mixture that, when applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer. As art, this is used to create an image or images known as a painting. Paint can be made in many colors and types. Most paints are ...
*100 μm – length of a dust
Dust is made of particle size, fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian processes, aeolian process), Types of volcan ...
particle
*120 μm – the geometric mean
In mathematics, the geometric mean is a mean or average which indicates a central tendency of a finite collection of positive real numbers by using the product of their values (as opposed to the arithmetic mean which uses their sum). The geometri ...
of the Planck length
In particle physics and physical cosmology, Planck units are a system of units of measurement defined exclusively in terms of four universal physical constants: '' c'', '' G'', '' ħ'', and ''k''B (described further below). Expressing one of ...
and the diametre of the observable universe
The observable universe is a Ball (mathematics), spherical region of the universe consisting of all matter that can be observation, observed from Earth; the electromagnetic radiation from these astronomical object, objects has had time to reach t ...
:
*120 μm – diametre of a human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
ovum
The egg cell or ovum (: ova) is the female reproductive cell, or gamete, in most anisogamous organisms (organisms that reproduce sexually with a larger, female gamete and a smaller, male one). The term is used when the female gamete is not capa ...
*170 μm – length of the largest mammalian sperm cell
Sperm (: sperm or sperms) is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail k ...
(rat)
*170 μm – length of the largest sperm cell
Sperm (: sperm or sperms) is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail k ...
in nature, belonging to the '' Drosophila bifurca'' fruit fly
*181 μm – maximum width of a strand of human hair
*100–400 μm – length of Demodex mites living in human hair follicle
The hair follicle is an organ found in mammalian skin. It resides in the dermal layer of the skin and is made up of 20 different cell types, each with distinct functions. The hair follicle regulates hair growth via a complex interaction betwee ...
s
*175–200 μm – typical thickness of a solar cell
A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell (PV cell), is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect. .
*200 μm – typical length of '' Paramecium caudatum'', a ciliate protist
*200 μm – nominal width of the smallest commonly available mechanical pencil lead (0.2 mm)
*250–300 μm – length of a dust mite
*340 μm – length of a pixel
In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a Raster graphics, raster image, or the smallest addressable element in a dot matrix display device. In most digital display devices, p ...
on a 17-inch monitor with a resolution of 1024×768
*500 μm – typical length of ''Amoeba proteus
''Amoeba proteus'' is a large species of amoeba closely related to another genus of giant amoebae, ''Chaos (genus), Chaos''. As such, the species is sometimes given the alternative scientific name ''Chaos diffluens''.
This protozoan uses extensi ...
'', an amoeboid protist
*500 μm – MEMS
MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) is the technology of microscopic devices incorporating both electronic and moving parts. MEMS are made up of components between 1 and 100 micrometres in size (i.e., 0.001 to 0.1 mm), and MEMS devices ...
micro-engine
*500 μm – average length of a grain of sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...
*500 μm – average length of a grain of salt
In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
*500 μm – average length of a grain of sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose
Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
*560 μm – thickness of the central area of a human cornea
The cornea is the transparency (optics), transparent front part of the eyeball which covers the Iris (anatomy), iris, pupil, and Anterior chamber of eyeball, anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and Lens (anatomy), lens, the cornea ...
*750 μm – diametre of a Thiomargarita namibiensis
''Thiomargarita namibiensis'' is a gram-negative, Facultative anaerobic organism, facultative anaerobic, coccus, coccoid bacterium found in South Africa's ocean sediments of the continental shelf of Namibia. The genus name ''Thiomargarita'' mean ...
, the largest bacteria known
*760 μm – thickness of an identification card
An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a document proving a person's identity.
If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). When the identity document incorporates a ...
1 millimetre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to ().
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists lengths between 10−3 m and 10−2 m (1 mm and 1 cm).
*1.0 mm – 1/1,000 of a metre
*1.0 mm – 0.03937 inch
The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British Imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary System of measurement, systems of measurement. It is eq ...
es or 5/127 (exactly)
*1.0 mm – side of a square
In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
of area 1 mm²
*1.0 mm – diametre of a pinhead
*1.5 mm – average length of a flea
*2.54 mm – distance between pins on old dual in-line package
In microelectronics, a dual in-line package (DIP or DIL) is an Semiconductor package, electronic component package with a rectangular housing and two parallel rows of electrical connecting pins. The package may be through-hole technology, throu ...
(DIP) electronic components
*5 mm – length of an average red ant
*5 mm – diametre of an average grain of rice
* 5.56×45mm NATO – standard ammunition size
*6 mm – approximate width of a pencil
*7 mm – length of a ''Paedophryne amauensis
''Paedophryne amauensis'', also known as the New Guinea Amau frog, is a species of microhylid frog endemic to eastern Papua New Guinea. At in snout-to-vent length, it was once considered the world's smallest known vertebrate. (See also Ecolo ...
'', the smallest-known vertebrate
*7.1 mm – length of a sunflower seed
*7.62×51mm NATO
The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, straight walled, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries.
First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first be ...
– common military ammunition size
*8 mm – width of old-format home movie film
*8 mm – length of a '' Paedocypris progenetica'', the smallest-known fish
1 centimetre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to ().
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists lengths between 10−2 m and 10−1 m (1 cm and 1 dm).
*1 cm – 10 millimetres
330px, Different lengths as in respect of the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is between 1 metre to 1 millimetre.
The millimetre (American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, i ...
*1 cm – 0.39 inch
The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British Imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary System of measurement, systems of measurement. It is eq ...
es
*1 cm – edge of a square
In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
of area 1 cm2
*1 cm – edge of a cube
A cube or regular hexahedron is a three-dimensional space, three-dimensional solid object in geometry, which is bounded by six congruent square (geometry), square faces, a type of polyhedron. It has twelve congruent edges and eight vertices. It i ...
of volume 1 mL
*1 cm – length of a coffee bean
*1 cm – approximate width of average fingernail
*1.2 cm – length of a bee
*1.2 cm – diametre of a die
*1.5 cm – length of a very large mosquito
*1.6 cm – length of a Jaragua Sphaero, a very small reptile
*1.7 cm – length of a Thorius arboreus, the smallest salamander
*2 cm – approximate width of an adult human finger
*2.54 cm – 1 inch
*3.08568 cm – 1 attoparsec
*3.4 cm – length of a quail egg
*3.5 cm – width of film commonly used in motion pictures and still photography
*3.78 cm – amount of distance the Moon moves away from Earth each year
*4.3 cm – minimum diametre of a golf ball
*5 cm – usual diametre of a chicken egg
*5 cm – height of a hummingbird, the smallest-known bird
*5.08 cm – 2 inch
The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British Imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary System of measurement, systems of measurement. It is eq ...
es,
*5.5 × 5.5 × 5.5 cm – dimensions of a 3x3x3 Rubik's cube
*6.1 cm – average height of an apple
*7.3–7.5 cm – diametre of a baseball
*8.6 cm × 5.4 cm – dimensions of a standard credit card (also called CR80)
*9 cm – length of a speckled padloper, the smallest-known turtle
1 decimetre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to ().
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists lengths between 10 centimetre
upright=1.35, Different lengths as in respect to the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is in-between 1 meter to 1 millimeter.
A centimetre (International spelling) or centimeter (American ...
s and 100 centimetres (10−1 metre and 1 metre).
Conversions
10 centimetres (abbreviated to 10 cm) is equal to:
*1 decimetre
The decimetre (or in American English; symbol: dm), is a unit of length in the International System of Units, equal to one tenth of a metre, ten centimetres, one hundred millimetres, and 3.937 inches.
The common non- SI metric unit of volu ...
(dm), a term not in common use (1 L = 1 dm3.)
*100 millimetre
330px, Different lengths as in respect of the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is between 1 metre to 1 millimetre.
The millimetre (American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, i ...
s
*3.9 inch
The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British Imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary System of measurement, systems of measurement. It is eq ...
es
*a side of a square
In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
of area 0.01 m2
*the edge of a cube
A cube or regular hexahedron is a three-dimensional space, three-dimensional solid object in geometry, which is bounded by six congruent square (geometry), square faces, a type of polyhedron. It has twelve congruent edges and eight vertices. It i ...
with a volume of m3 (1 L)
Wavelengths
*10 cm = 1.0 dm – wavelength of the highest UHF
Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...
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
A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the Koala#Characteristics, koala (which has two thumb#O ...
used in measuring height of horses (4 inches)
*12 cm = 1.2 dm – diametre 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 – diametre of a typical association football (soccer ball)
*30 cm = 3 dm – typical school-use ruler length (= 300 mm)
*30.48 cm = 3.048 dm – 1 foot
The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up o ...
(measure)
*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
*91.44 cm = 9.144 dm – one yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...
(measure)
Nature
*10 cm = 1 dm – diametre of the human cervix
The cervix (: cervices) or cervix uteri is a dynamic fibromuscular sexual organ of the female reproductive system that connects the vagina with the uterine cavity. The human female cervix has been documented anatomically since at least the time ...
upon entering the second stage of labour
*11 cm = 1.1 dm – length of an average potato in the U.S.
*13 cm = 1.3 dm – body length of a Goliath birdeater
The Goliath birdeater (''Theraphosa blondi'') belongs to the tarantula
Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,100 species have been identified, with 166 genera. The term "tarantula" ...
*15 cm = 1.5 dm – approximate size of largest beetle species
*19 cm = 1.9 dm – length of a banana
*26.3 cm = 2.6 dm – length of average male human foot
*29.98 cm = 2.998 dm – distance light in vacuum travels in one nanosecond
A nanosecond (ns) is a unit of time in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one billionth of a second, that is, of a second, or seconds.
The term combines the SI prefix ''nano-'' indicating a 1 billionth submultiple of an SI unit (e ...
*30 cm = 3.0 dm – maximum leg length of a Goliath birdeater
*31 cm = 3.1 dm – wingspan of largest butterfly species ''Ornithoptera alexandrae''
*32 cm – length of the Goliath frog, the world's largest frog
*46 cm = 4.6 dm – length of an average domestic cat
*50 to 65 cm = 5–6.5 dm – a coati's tail
*66 cm = 6.6 dm – length of the longest pine cones (produced by the sugar pine)
Astronomical
*84 cm = 8.4 dm – approximate diametre of 2008 TS26, a meteoroid
1 metre
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists lengths between one metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
and ten metres.
Light, in vacuum, travels 1 metre in , or of a second.
Conversions
1 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
is:
*10 decimetre
The decimetre (or in American English; symbol: dm), is a unit of length in the International System of Units, equal to one tenth of a metre, ten centimetres, one hundred millimetres, and 3.937 inches.
The common non- SI metric unit of volu ...
s
*100 centimetre
upright=1.35, Different lengths as in respect to the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is in-between 1 meter to 1 millimeter.
A centimetre (International spelling) or centimeter (American ...
s
*1,000 millimetre
330px, Different lengths as in respect of the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is between 1 metre to 1 millimetre.
The millimetre (American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, i ...
s
*39.37 inch
The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British Imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary System of measurement, systems of measurement. It is eq ...
es
*3.28 feet
The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of ...
*1.1 yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...
s
*side of square
In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
with area 1 m2
*edge of cube
A cube or regular hexahedron is a three-dimensional space, three-dimensional solid object in geometry, which is bounded by six congruent square (geometry), square faces, a type of polyhedron. It has twelve congruent edges and eight vertices. It i ...
with surface area 6 m2 and volume 1 m3
*radius of circle
A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...
with area π m2
*radius of sphere
A sphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a surface (mathematics), surface analogous to the circle, a curve. In solid geometry, a sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...
with surface area 4π m2 and volume 4/3π m3
Human-defined scales and structures
*1 m – approximate height of the top part of a doorknob on a door
*1 m – diametre of a very large beach ball
*1 m - height of a typical washing machine
A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a machine designed to laundry, launder clothing. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water. Other ways of doing laundry include dry cleaning (which uses ...
*1.29 m – length of the Cross Island Chapel, the smallest church in the world
*1.4 m – length of a Peel P50, the world's smallest car
*1.435 m – standard gauge of railway track used by about 60% of railways in the world = 4 ft 8 in
*2 m - typical height of an average door
A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide securit ...
*2.5 m – distance from the floor to the ceiling in an average residential house
*2.7 m – length of the Starr Bumble Bee II, the smallest plane
*2.77–3.44 m – wavelength of the broadcast radio FM band 87–108 MHz
*3.05 m – the length of an old Mini
The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally ...
*8 m – length of the Tsar Bomba
The Tsar Bomba (code name: ''Ivan'' or ''Vanya''), also known by the alphanumerical designation "AN602", was a Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear aerial bomb, and by far the most powerful nuclear weapon ever created and tested. The Soviet phy ...
, the largest bomb ever detonated
*8.38 m – the length of a London Bus (AEC Routemaster
The AEC Routemaster is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport Executive, London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The ...
)
Sports
*2.44 m – height of an association football goal
*2.45 m – highest high jump by a human (Javier Sotomayor)
*3.05 m – (10 feet) height of the basket in basketball
*8.95 m – longest long jump by a human (Mike Powell)
Nature
*1 m – length of ''Rafflesia arnoldii
''Rafflesia arnoldii'', the corpse flower, or giant padma, Its local name is Petimum Sikinlili. It is a species of flowering plant in the parasitic genus '' Rafflesia'' within the family Rafflesiaceae. It is noted for producing the largest in ...
'', the largest flower in the world
*1 m – height of ''Homo floresiensis
''Homo floresiensis'' , also known as "Flores Man" or "Hobbit" (after Hobbit, the fictional species), is an Extinction, extinct species of small archaic humans that inhabited the island of Flores, Indonesia, until the arrival of Homo sapiens, ...
'' (the "Hobbit")
*1.15 m – a pizote (mammal)
*1.5 m – height of an okapi
The okapi (; ''Okapia johnstoni''), also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe and zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. However, non-invasive gen ...
*1.63 m – (5 feet 4 inches, or 64 inches) – height of average U.S. female human (source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))
*1.75 m – (5 feet 8 inches) – height of average U.S. male human (source: U.S. CDC as per female above)
*2.4 m – wingspan of a mute swan
The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurasia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home to ...
*2.5 m – height of a sunflower
The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pr ...
*2.7 m – length of a leatherback sea turtle, the largest living turtle
*2.72 m – (8 feet 11 inches) – tallest-known human (Robert Wadlow)
*3 m – length of a giant Gippsland earthworm
*3 m – length of an Komodo dragon
The Komodo dragon (''Varanus komodoensis''), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large reptile of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo (island), Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Dasami, and Gili ...
, the largest living lizard
*3.63 m – the record wingspan for living birds (a wandering albatross
The snowy albatross (''Diomedea exulans''), also known as the wandering albatross, white-winged albatross, or goonie, is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae
Albatrosses, of the biological family (biology), family Diomedeidae, are la ...
)
*3.7 m – leg span of a Japanese spider crab
*3.7 m – length of a southern elephant seal
The southern elephant seal (''Mirounga leonina'') is one of two species of elephant seals. It is the largest member of the clade Pinnipedia and the order Carnivora, as well as the largest extant marine mammal that is not a cetacean. It gets its ...
, the largest living pinniped
*5 m – length of an elephant
Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...
*5.2 m – height of a giraffe
The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...
*5.5 m – height of a '' Baluchitherium'', the largest land mammal ever lived
*6.5 m – wingspan of '' Argentavis'', the largest flying bird known
*6.7 m – length of a '' Microchaetus rappi''
*7.4 m – wingspan of '' Pelagornis,'' the bird with longest wingspan ever.
*7.5 m – approximate length of the human gastrointestinal tract
Astronomical
*3–6 m – approximate diametre of , a meteoroid
*4.1 m – diametre of 2008 TC3, a small asteroid that flew into the Earth's atmosphere on 7 October 2008
1 decametre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to 10 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s (101 m).
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists lengths between 10 and 100 metres.
Conversions
10 metres (very rarely termed a decametre which is abbreviated as dam) is equal to:
*10 metres
*100 decimetre
The decimetre (or in American English; symbol: dm), is a unit of length in the International System of Units, equal to one tenth of a metre, ten centimetres, one hundred millimetres, and 3.937 inches.
The common non- SI metric unit of volu ...
s
*1,000 centimetre
upright=1.35, Different lengths as in respect to the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is in-between 1 meter to 1 millimeter.
A centimetre (International spelling) or centimeter (American ...
s
*10,000 millimetre
330px, Different lengths as in respect of the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is between 1 metre to 1 millimetre.
The millimetre (American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, i ...
s
* 10,000,000 micrometre
The micrometre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a uni ...
s (or rarely 10,000,000 microns)
*32.8 feet
The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of ...
*11 yards
*side of a square
In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
with area 100 m²
Human-defined scales and structures
*10 metres – wavelength of the highest shortwave radio frequency, 30 M Hz
*10.2 metres – length of the Panzer VIII Maus, the world's largest tank
*12 metres – height of the Newby-McMahon Building, the world's littlest skyscraper
*23 metres – height of Luxor Obelisk
The Luxor Obelisks (French: ) are a pair of ancient Egyptian obelisks, over 3,000 years old, carved to stand either side of the portal of the Luxor Temple in the reign of Ramesses II (). The right-hand (western) stone, high, was gifted by Egy ...
, located in the Place de la Concorde, Paris, France
*25 metres – wavelength of the broadcast radio shortwave band at 12 MHz
*29 metres – height of the Savudrija Lighthouse
*30 metres – height of Christ the Redeemer
*31 metres – wavelength of the broadcast radio shortwave band at 9.7 MHz
*32 metres – length of one arcsecond
A minute of arc, arcminute (abbreviated as arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of a degree. Since one degree is of a turn, or complete rotation, one arcminute is of a tu ...
of latitude
In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...
on the surface of the Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
*33.3 metres – height of the De Noord, the tallest windmill in the world
*34 metres – height of the Split Point Lighthouse in Aireys Inlet, Victoria, Australia
*40 metres – wingspan of the Mil Mi-26, the largest helicopter
*40 metres – average depth beneath the seabed of the Channel tunnel
*49 metres – wavelength of the broadcast radio shortwave band at 6.1 MHz
*50 metres – length of a road train
*50 metres – height of the Arc de Triomphe
*55 metres – height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
*62 metres – wingspan of Concorde
*62.5 metres – height of Pyramid of Djoser
*64 metres – wingspan of a Boeing 747-400
*69 metres – wingspan of an Antonov An-124 Ruslan
*70 metres – length of the Bayeux Tapestry
*70 metres – width of a typical association football field
*73 metres – wingspan of a Airbus A380
*73 metres – height of the Taj Mahal
*77 metres – wingspan of a Boeing 747-8
*88.4 metres – wingspan of an Antonov An-225 Mriya transport aircraft
*93 metres – height of the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World'')
*96 metres – height of Big Ben
*100 metres – wavelength of the lowest shortwave radio frequency, 1 E6 Hz, 3 MHz
Sports
*11 metres – approximate width of a doubles tennis court
*15 metres – width of a standard FIBA basketball court
*15.24 metres – width of an NBA basketball court (50 feet)
*18.44 metres – distance between the front of the pitcher's rubber and the rear point of home plate on a baseball field (60 feet, 6 inches)
*20 metres – length of cricket pitch (22 yards)
*27.43 metres – distance between bases on a baseball field (90 feet)
*28 metres – length of a standard FIBA basketball court
*28.65 metres – length of an NBA basketball court (94 feet)
*49 metres – width of an American football field (53 yards)
*59.436 metres – width of a Canadian football field (65 yards)
*70 metres – typical width of an association football field
*91 metres – length of an American football field (100 yards, measured between the goal lines)
Nature
*10 metres – average length of human digestive tract
*12 metres – height of a saguaro cactus
*12 metres – length of a whale shark, largest living fish
*12 metres – wingspan of a ''Quetzalcoatlus'', a pterosaur
*12.8 metres – length of a ''Titanoboa'', the largest snake to have ever lived
*13 metres – length of a giant squid and colossal squid, the largest living invertebrates
*15 metres – approximate distance the tropical circles of latitude are moving towards the equator and the polar circles are moving towards the poles each year due to a natural, gradual decrease in the Earth's axial tilt
*16 metres – length of a sperm whale, the largest toothed whale
*18 metres – height of a ''Sauroposeidon'', the tallest-known dinosaur
*20 metres – length of a ''Leedsichthys'', the largest-known fish to have lived
*21 metres – height of High Force waterfall in England
*30.5 metres – length of the lion's mane jellyfish, the largest jellyfish in the world
*33 metres – length of a blue whale, the largest animal on earth, living or extinct, in terms of mass
*39 metres – length of a ''Supersaurus'', the longest-known dinosaur and longest vertebrate
*52 metres – height of Niagara Falls
*55 metres – length of a bootlace worm, the longest-known animal
*66 metres – highest possible sea level rise due to a complete melting of all ice on Earth
*83 metres – height of a western hemlock
*84 metres – height of General Sherman Tree, General Sherman, the largest tree in the world
Astronomical
*30 metres – diametre of , a rapidly spinning meteoroid
*30.8568 metres – 1 femtoparsec
*32 metres – approximate diametre of 2008 HJ, a small meteoroid
1 hectometre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to 100 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s (102 m).
To compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
this section lists lengths between 100 metres and 1,000 metres (1 kilometre, kilometre).
Conversions
100 metres (sometimes termed a hectometre) is equal to:
*328 feet
The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of ...
*one side of a 1 E+4 m², 1 hectare square
*a fifth of a modern li (Chinese unit), li, a Chinese unit of measurement
*the approximate distance travelled by light in 300 nanosecond
A nanosecond (ns) is a unit of time in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one billionth of a second, that is, of a second, or seconds.
The term combines the SI prefix ''nano-'' indicating a 1 billionth submultiple of an SI unit (e ...
s
Human-defined scales and structures
*100 metres – wavelength of the highest medium wave radio frequency, 1 E6 Hz, 3 MHz
*100 metres – spacing of location marker posts on British motorways
*110 metres – height of the Saturn V
*122 metres – height of the SpaceX Starship, Starship, the tallest rocket currently under development by SpaceX
*138.8 metres – height of the Great Pyramid of Giza (Pyramid of Cheops)
*139 metres – height of the world's tallest roller coaster, Kingda Ka
*157 metres – height of the Cologne Cathedral
*162 metres – height of the Ulm Minster, the tallest church building in the world
*165 metres – height of the Dushanbe Flagpole, the tallest flagpole from May 2011 to September 2014
*169 metres – height of the Washington Monument
*171 metres – height of the Jeddah Flagpole, the tallest flagpole from September 2014 to December 2021
*182 metres – height of the ''Statue of Unity'', the world's tallest statue
*187 metres – shortest wavelength of the broadcast radio AM band, 1 E6 Hz, 1600 kHz
*192 metres – height of the Gateway Arch
*202 metres – height of the Cairo Flagpole, the tallest flagpole as of December 2021
*202 metres – length of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge connecting Buda and Pest
*220 metres – height of the Hoover Dam
*245 metres – length of the LZ 129 Hindenburg
*270 metres – length of the ''Titanic''
*318 metres – height of The New York Times Building
*318.9 metres – height of the Chrysler Building
*328 metres – height of Auckland's Sky Tower (Auckland), Sky Tower, the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere (1996–2022)
*330 metres – height of the Eiffel Tower (including antenna)
*336 metres – height of the world's tallest bridge as of October 2023, the Millau Viaduct
*364.75 metres – length of the Icon of the Seas
*390 metres – height of the Empire State Building
*400–800 metres – approximate heights of the world's tallest skyscrapers from 1931 to 2010
*458 metres – length of the Knock Nevis, the world's largest supertanker
*553.33 metres – height of the CN Tower, the tallest structure in North America
*555 metres – longest wavelength of the broadcast radio AM band, 1 E5 Hz, 540 kHz
*630 metres – height of the KVLY-TV mast, one of the tallest structures in the world
*646 metres – height of the Warsaw radio mast, the world's tallest structure until its collapse in 1991
*679 metres – height of Merdeka 118, the second tallest structure in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
*828 metres – height of Burj Khalifa, world's tallest structure since 17 January 2009
*1,000 metres – wavelength of the lowest mediumwave radio frequency, 1 E5 Hz, 300 kHz
Sports
*100 metres – the distance a very fast human can run in about 10 seconds
*100.584 metres – length of a Canadian football field between the goal lines (110 yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...
s)
*91.5 metres – 137 metres – length of a soccer field[
*105 metres – length of football pitch (UEFA stadium categories 3 and 4)
*105 metres – length of a typical football field
*109.73 metres – total length of an American football field (120 yards, including the end zones)
*110–150 metres – the width of an Australian football field
*135–185 metres – the length of an Australian football field
*137.16 metres – total length of a Canadian football field, including the end zones (150 yards)
]
Nature
*115.5 metres – height of the world's tallest tree in 2007, the Hyperion (tree), Hyperion sequoia
*310 metres – maximum depth of Lake Geneva
*340 metres – distance sound travels in air at sea level in one second; see Speed of sound
*947 metres – height of the Tugela Falls, the highest waterfall in Africa
*979 metres – height of the Angel Falls, the world's highest free-falling waterfall (Venezuela)
Astronomical
*270 metres – length of 99942 Apophis
*535 metres – length of 25143 Itokawa, a small asteroid visited by a spacecraft
1 kilometre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s (103 m).
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 1 kilometre and 10 kilometre, kilometres (103 and 104 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s).
Conversions
1 kilometre, kilometre (unit symbol km) is equal to:
*1,000 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s
*0.621371 miles
*1,093.61 yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...
s
*3,280.84 feet
The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of ...
*39,370.1 inch
The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British Imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary System of measurement, systems of measurement. It is eq ...
es
*100,000 centimetre
upright=1.35, Different lengths as in respect to the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is in-between 1 meter to 1 millimeter.
A centimetre (International spelling) or centimeter (American ...
s
*1,000,000 millimetre
330px, Different lengths as in respect of the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is between 1 metre to 1 millimetre.
The millimetre (American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, i ...
s
*Side of a square
In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
of area 1 E+6 m², 1 Km², km2
*Radius of a circle
A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...
of area Pi, π km2
Human-defined scales and structures
*1 km – wavelength of the highest long wave radio frequency, 1 E5 Hz, 300 kHz
*1.008 km – proposed height of the Jeddah Tower, a megatall skyscraper under construction in Saudi Arabia
*1.280 km – span of the Golden Gate Bridge (distance between towers)
*1.609 km – 1 statute mile
*1.852 km – 1 nautical mile, equal to 1 arcminute of latitude
In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...
at the surface of the Earth
*1.991 km – span of the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge
*2.309 km – axial length of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest dam in the world located in China
*3.991 km – length of the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, longest suspension bridge in the world
*4 km – width of Central Park
*5.072 km – elevation of Tanggula Mountain Pass, below highest peak in the Tanggula Mountains, highest railway pass in the world
*5.8 km – elevation of Cerro Aucanquilcha, highest road in the world, located in Chile
*List of longest runways, 98 airports have paved runways from 4 km to 5.5 km in length.
*8 km – length of Palm Jebel Ali, an artificial island built off the coast of Dubai
*9.8 km – length of The World (archipelago), The World, an artificial archipelago that is also built off the coast of Dubai, whose islands resemble a world map
Nature
*1.5 km – distance sound travels in water in one second
Geographical
*1.637 km – deepest dive of Lake Baikal in Russia, the world's largest freshwater lake
*2.228 km – height of Mount Kosciuszko, highest point on mainland Geography of Australia, Australia
*Most of Manhattan is from 3 to 4 km wide.
*3.776 km – height of Mount Fuji, highest peak in Japan
*4.478 km – height of Matterhorn
*4.509 km – height of Mount Wilhelm, highest peak in Papua New Guinea
*4.810 km – height of Mont Blanc, highest peak in the Alps
*4.884 km – height of Carstensz Pyramid, highest peak in Oceania
*4.892 km – height of Mount Vinson, highest peak in Antarctica
*5.610 km – height of Mount Damavand, highest peak in Iran
*5.642 km – height of Mount Elbrus, highest peak in Europe
*5.895 km – height of Mount Kilimanjaro, highest peak in Africa
*6.081 km – height of Mount Logan, highest peak in Canada
*6.190 km – height of Denali, highest peak in North America
*6.959 km – height of Aconcagua, highest peak in South America
*7.5 km – depth of Cayman Trench, deepest point in the Caribbean Sea
*8.611 km – height of K2, second highest peak on Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
*8.848 km – height of Mount Everest, highest peak on Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
, on the border between Nepal and China
Astronomical
*1 km – diametre of 1620 Geographos
*1 km – very approximate size of the smallest-known moons of Jupiter
*1.4 km – diametre of Dactyl (asteroid), Dactyl, the first confirmed asteroid moon
*4.8 km – diametre of 5535 Annefrank, an inner belt asteroid
*5 km – diametre of 3753 Cruithne
*5 km – length of PSR B1257+12
*8 km – diametre of Themisto (moon), Themisto, one of Jupiter's moons
*8 km – diametre of the Vela Pulsar
*8.6 km – diametre of Callirrhoe (moon), Callirrhoe, also known as Jupiter XVII
*9.737 km – length of PSR B1919+21
10 kilometres (1 myriametre)
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 10 and 100 kilometre, kilometres (104 to 105 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s). The ''myriametre''[ (Website based on ''Alte Meß- und Währungssysteme aus dem deutschen Sprachgebiet'', )] (sometimes also spelled ''myriometre''; 10,000 metres) is a deprecated unit name; the decimal metric prefix myria- (sometimes also written as myrio-) is obsolete and was not included among the prefixes
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Particularly in the study of languages, a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the word to which it is affixed.
Prefixes, like other affixes, can b ...
when the International System of Units
The International System of Units, internationally known by the abbreviation SI (from French ), is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. It is the only system of measurement with official s ...
was introduced in 1960.
Conversions
10 kilometres is equal to:
*10,000 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s
*About 6.2 miles
*1 ''mil (the Scandinavian mile)'', now standardized as 10 km:
**1 mil, the unit of measure commonly used in Norway and Sweden[Haugen, Einar, ''Norwegian English Dictionary,'' 1965, Oslo: Universitetsforlaget and Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, s.v. mil] used to be 11,295 m in Norway and 10,688 m in Sweden.
*''Parasang, farsang'', unit of measure commonly used in Iran and Turkey
Sports
*42.195 km – length of the marathon
Human-defined scales and structures
*18 km – cruising altitude of Concorde
*27 km – circumference of the Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It was built by the CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008, in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists, ...
, the largest and highest energy particle accelerator
*34.668 km – highest manned balloon flight (Malcolm D. Ross and Victor E. Prather on 4 May 1961)
*38.422 km – length of the Second Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana, U.S.
*39 km – undersea portion of the Channel tunnel
*53.9 km – length of the Seikan Tunnel, , the longest rail tunnel in the world
*77 km – rough total length of the Panama Canal
Geographical
*10 km – height of Mauna Kea in Hawaii, measured from its base on the ocean floor
*11 km – deepest-known point of the ocean, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench
*11 km – average height of the troposphere
*14 km – width of the Strait of Gibraltar
*21 km – length of Manhattan
*22 km – narrowest width of the Cook Strait between New Zealand's main islands
*23 km – depth of the 1931 Dogger Bank earthquake, largest earthquake ever recorded in the United Kingdom, in 1931 at the Dogger Bank of the North Sea
*34 km – narrowest width of the English Channel at the Strait of Dover
*50 km – approximate height of the stratosphere
*90 km – width of the Bering Strait
Astronomical
*10 km – diametre of the most massive neutron stars (3–5 solar masses)
*13 km – mean diametre of Deimos (moon), Deimos, the smaller moon of Mars
*20 km – diametre of the least massive neutron stars (1.44 solar masses)
*20 km – diametre of Leda (moon), Leda, one of Jupiter's moons
*20 km – diametre of Pan (moon), Pan, one of Saturn's moons
*22 km – diametre of Phobos (moon), Phobos, the larger moon of Mars
*27 km – height of Olympus Mons above the Mars reference level, the highest-known mountain of the Solar System
*30.8568 km – 1 picoparsec
*43 km – diametre difference of Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
's equatorial bulge
*66 km – diametre of Naiad (moon), Naiad, the innermost of Neptune's moons
100 kilometres
A length of ''100 kilometres'' (about 62 miles), as a rough amount, is relatively common in measurements on Earth and for some astronomical objects.
It is the altitude at which the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, FAI defines spaceflight to begin.
To help compare orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s between 100 and 1,000 kilometre, kilometres (105 and 106 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s).
Conversions
A distance of 100 kilometres is equal to about 62 miles (or ).
Human-defined scales and structures
*100 km – the Karman line: the internationally recognized boundary of outer space
*105 km – distance from Giridih to Bokaro Steel City, Bokaro
*109 km – length of High Speed 1 between London and the Channel Tunnel
*130 km – range of a Scud-A missile
*163 km – length of the Suez Canal
*164 km – length of the Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge
*213 km – length of Paris Métro
*217 km – length of the Grand Union Canal
*223 km – length of the Madrid Metro
*300 km – range of a Scud-B missile
*386 km – altitude of the International Space Station
*408 km – length of the London Underground (active track)
*460 km – distance from London to Paris
*470 km – distance from Dublin to London as the crow flies
*600 km – range of a Scud-C missile
*600 km – height above ground of the Hubble Space Telescope
*804.67 km – (500 miles) distance of the Indy 500 automobile race
Geographical
*42 km – width of Singapore
*75 km – width of Rhode Island
*111 km – distance covered by one degree of latitude
In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...
on Earth's surface
*120 km – width of Brunei
*180 km – distance between Mumbai and Nashik
*200 km – width of Qatar
*203 km – length of Sognefjorden, the third-largest fjord in the world
*220 km – distance between Pune and Nashik
*240 km – width of Rwanda
*240 km – widest width of the English Channel
*400 km – width of West Virginia
*430 km – length of the Pyrenees
*450 km – length of the Grand Canyon
*500 km – widest width of Geography of Sweden, Sweden from east to west
*501 km – width of Uganda
*550 km – distance from San Francisco to Los Angeles as the crow flies
*560 km – distance of Bordeaux–Paris, formerly the longest one-day professional cycling race
*590 km – length of land boundary between Geography of Finland, Finland and Geography of Sweden, Sweden
*724 km – length of the Om River
*800 km – width of Germany
*871 km – distance from Sydney to Melbourne (along the Hume Highway)
*897 km – length of the River Douro
*900 km – distance from Berlin to Stockholm
*956 km – distance from Washington, D.C., to Chicago, Illinois, as the crow flies
*970 km – distance from Land's End to John o' Groats as the crow flies
Astronomical
*100 km – the altitude at which the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, FAI defines spaceflight to begin
*167 km – diametre of Amalthea (moon), Amalthea, one of Jupiter's inner moons
*200 km – width of Valles Marineris
*220 km – diametre of Phoebe (moon), Phoebe, the largest of Saturn's outer moons
*300 km – the approximate distance travelled by light in one millisecond
*340 km – diametre of Nereid (moon), Nereid, the third-largest moon of Neptune which has a highly Elliptic orbit, elliptical orbit
*350 km – lower bound of Low Earth orbit
*420 km – diametre of Proteus (moon), Proteus, the second-largest moon of Neptune
*468 km – diametre of the asteroid 4 Vesta
*472 km – diametre of Miranda (moon), Miranda, one of Uranus's major moons
*974.6 km – greatest diametre of Ceres (dwarf planet), 1 Ceres, the largest Solar System asteroid[
]
1 megametre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s (106 m).
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s starting at 106 m (#1 megametre, 1 Mm or 1,000 kilometre, km).
Conversions
1 megametre is equal to:
* 1000 km
* (one million metres)
* approximately 621.37 miles
Human-defined scales and structures
*2.100 Mm – length of proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipe
*2.100 Mm – distance from Casablanca to Rome
*2.288 Mm – length of the official Alaska Highway when it was built in the 1940s
*3.069 Mm – length of Interstate 95 (from Houlton, Maine, to Miami, Florida)
*3.846 Mm – length of U.S. Route 1 (from Fort Kent, Maine, to Key West, Florida)
*5.000 Mm – width of the United States
*5.007 Mm – estimated length of Interstate 90 (Seattle, Washington, to Boston, Massachusetts)
*5.614 Mm – length of the Australian Dingo Fence
*6.371 Mm – global-average Earth radius
*6.4 Mm – length of the Great Wall of China
*7.821 Mm – length of the Trans-Canada Highway, the world's longest national highway (from Victoria, British Columbia, to St. John's, Newfoundland)
*8.836 Mm – road distance between Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and Key West, Florida, the endpoints of the U.S. road network
*8.852 Mm – aggregate length of the Great Wall of China, including trenches, hills and rivers
*9.259 Mm – length of the Trans-Siberian railway
Sports
*The Munda Biddi Trail in Western Australia, Australia, is over 1,000 km long – the world's longest off-road cycle trail
*1.200 Mm – the length of the Paris–Brest–Paris bicycling event
*Several endurance auto races are, or were, run for 1,000 km:
**Bathurst 1000
**1000 km Brands Hatch
**1000 km Buenos Aires
**1000 km Donington
**1000 km Monza
**1000 km Nürburgring
**1000 km Silverstone
**1000 km Spa
**1000 km Suzuka
**1000 km Zeltweg
Geographical
*1.010 Mm – distance from San Diego to El Paso as the crow flies
*1.100 Mm – length of Italy
*1.200 Mm – length of California
*1.200 Mm – width of Texas
*1.500 Mm – length of the Gobi Desert
*1.600 Mm – length of the Namib, the oldest desert on Earth
*2.000 Mm – distance from Beijing to Hong Kong as the crow flies
*2.300 Mm – length of the Great Barrier Reef
*2.800 Mm – narrowest width of Atlantic Ocean (Brazil-West Africa)
*2.850 Mm – length of the Danube river
*2.205 Mm – length of Geography of Sweden, Sweden's total land boundaries
*2.515 Mm – length of Geography of Norway, Norway's total land boundaries
*3.690 Mm – length of the Volga river, longest in Europe
*4.000 Mm – length of the Kalahari Desert
*4.350 Mm – length of the Yellow River
*4.600 Mm – width of the Mediterranean Sea
*4.800 Mm – length of the Sahara
*4.800 Mm – widest width of Atlantic Ocean (U.S.-Northern Africa)
*5.100 Mm – distance from Dublin to New York City, New York as the crow flies
*6.270 Mm – length of the Mississippi River, Mississippi-Missouri River system
*6.380 Mm – length of the Yangtze River
*6.400 Mm – Length of the Amazon River
*6.758 Mm – Length of the Nile River, Nile system, longest on Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
*8.200 Mm – Approximate Distance from Dublin to San Francisco
Astronomical
*1.000 Mm – estimated shortest axis of Ellipsoid, triaxial dwarf planet
*1.186 Mm – diametre of Charon (moon), Charon, the largest moon of Pluto
*1.280 Mm – diametre of the trans-Neptunian object 50000 Quaoar
*1.436 Mm – diametre of Iapetus (moon), Iapetus, one of Saturn's major moons
*1.578 Mm – diametre of Titania (moon), Titania, the largest of Uranus's moons
*1.960 Mm – estimated longest axis of Haumea (dwarf planet), Haumea
*2.326 Mm – diametre of the dwarf planet Eris (dwarf planet), Eris, the largest trans-Neptunian object found to date
*2.376 Mm – diametre of Pluto
*2.707 Mm – diametre of Triton (moon), Triton, largest moon of Neptune
*3.122 Mm – diametre of Europa (moon), Europa, the smallest Galilean satellite of Jupiter
*3.476 Mm – diametre of Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
's Moon
*3.643 Mm – diametre of Io (moon), Io, a moon of Jupiter
*4.821 Mm – diametre of Callisto (moon), Callisto, a moon of Jupiter
*4.879 Mm – diametre of Mercury (planet), Mercury
*5.150 Mm – diametre of Titan (moon), Titan, the largest moon of Saturn
*5.262 Mm – diametre of Jupiter's moon Ganymede (moon), Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System
*6.371 Mm – Earth radius, radius of Earth
*6.792 Mm – diametre of Mars
10 megametres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s starting at 107 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s (#10 megametre, 10 megametres or 10,000 kilometre, kilometres).
Conversions
10 megametres (10 Mm) is
*6,215 miles
*side of a square
In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
of area 100,000,000 square kilometre, square kilometres (km2)
*radius of a circle
A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...
of area 314,159,265 km2
Human-defined scales and structures
*11.085 Mm – length of the Kyiv-Vladivostok railway, a longer variant of the Trans-Siberian railway
*13.300 Mm – length of roads rehabilitated and widened under the National Highway Development Project (launched in 1998) in India
*39.000 Mm – length of the SEA-ME-WE 3 optical submarine telecommunications cable, joining 39 points between Norden, Lower Saxony, Norden, Germany, and Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa, Japan
*67.000 Mm – total length of National highways of India, National Highways in India
*80.000 Mm – 20,000 (metric, French) league (unit), leagues (see Jules Verne, ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'')
Geographical
*10 Mm – approximate altitude of the outer boundary of the exosphere
*10.001 Mm – length of the meridian arc from the North Pole to the Equator (the original definition of the metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
was based on this length)
*40.000 Mm – length of the Ring of Fire
*60.000 Mm – total length of the mid-ocean ridges
Astronomical
*12.000 Mm – diametre of Sirius, Sirius B, a white dwarf
A white dwarf is a Compact star, stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very density, dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclear fusion takes place i ...
*12.104 Mm – diametre of Venus
*12.742 Mm – diametre of Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
*12.900 Mm – minimum distance of the meteoroid from the centre of Earth on 31 March 2004, closest on record
*14.000 Mm – smallest diametre of Jupiter's Great Red Spot
*19.000 Mm – separation between Pluto and Charon (moon), Charon
*30.8568 Mm – 1 nanoparsec
*34.770 Mm – minimum distance of the asteroid 99942 Apophis on 13 April 2029 from the centre of Earth
*35.786 Mm – altitude of geostationary orbit
*40.005 Mm – polar circumference of the Earth
*40.077 Mm – equatorial circumference of the Earth
*49.528 Mm – diametre of Neptune
*51.118 Mm – diametre of Uranus
100 megametres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
s starting at 108 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s (#100 megametre, 100 megametres or 100,000 kilometre, kilometres or 62,150 miles).
*102 Mm – diametre of HD 149026 b, an unusually dense gas giant, Jovian planet
*115 Mm – width of Saturn's Rings
*120 Mm – diametre of EBLM J0555-57Ab, the smallest-known star
*120 Mm – diametre of Saturn
*142 Mm – diametre of Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System
*170 Mm – diametre of TRAPPIST-1, a star discovered to have seven planets around it
*174 Mm – diametre of OGLE-TR-122b, one of the smallest known stars
*180 Mm – average distance covered during life
*215 Mm – diametre of Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Solar System
*257 Mm – diametre of TrES-4b, TrES-4, one of the largest exoplanets
*260 Mm – diametre of the Barnard's Star
*272 Mm – diametre of WASP-12b
*299.792 Mm – one light-second; the distance light travels in vacuum in one second (see speed of light)
*314 Mm – diametre of CT Cha b
*384.4 Mm (238,855 mi) – average Lunar distance (astronomy), Earth–Moon distance
*671 Mm – separation between Jupiter and Europa (moon), Europa
*696 Mm – Solar radius, radius of Sun
*989 Mm – diametre of Epsilon Indi, one of the nearest stars to Earth
1 gigametre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s (109 m).
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 109 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s (1 gigametre (Gm) or 1 billion metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s).
*1.2 Gm – separation between Saturn and Titan (moon), Titan
*1.39 Gm – diametre of Sun
*1.5 Gm – orbit from Earth of the James Webb Space Telescope
*1.71 Gm – diametre of Alpha Centauri A, one of the closest stars.
*2.19 Gm – closest approach of Comet Lexell to Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
, happened on 1 July 1770; closest comet approach on record
*2.38 Gm – diametre of Sirius A, brightest naked eye star.
*3 Gm – total length of "wiring" in the human brain
*3.5 Gm – diametre of Vega
*4.2 Gm – diametre of Algol B
*4.3 Gm – circumference of Sun
*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 interferometre of the Laser Interferometre Space Antenna (LISA) planned to start observations sometime in the 2030s.''
*7.9 Gm – diametre of Bellatrix, Gamma Orionis, a blue dwarf or blue giant
*9.0 Gm – estimated diametre of the event horizon of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way galaxy
10 gigametres
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1010 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s (10 1 gigametre, gigametres (Gm) or 10 million kilometre, kilometres, or 0.07 astronomical units).
*10.4 Gm – diametre of Spica, an oval-shaped blue giant star and a List of supernova candidates, nearby supernova candidate.
*12.6 Gm – diametre of Pollux (star), Pollux, the closest red giant star to the Sun. It is a red clump star fusing helium into carbon at its core.
*15 Gm – closest distance of Comet Hyakutake from Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
*18 Gm – one light-minute (see yellow sphere in right-hand diagram)
*24 Gm – radius of a heliostationary orbit
*30.8568 Gm – 1 microparsec
*35 Gm – approximate diametre of Arcturus, a close red giant star. It is on the red giant branch, fusing hydrogen into helium in a shell surrounding an inert helium core.
*46 Gm – Apsis, perihelion distance of Mercury (planet), Mercury (yellow ellipse on the right)
*55 Gm – 60,000-year perigee of Mars (last achieved on 27 August 2003)
*58 Gm – average passing distance between Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
and Mars at the moment they overtake each other in their orbits
*61 Gm – diametre of Aldebaran, a red giant branch star (large star on right)[ They derived an angular diametre of 20.58±0.03 milliarcsec, which given a distance of 65 light-years yields a diametre of 61 million km.]
*70 Gm – Apsis, aphelion distance of Mercury
*76 Gm – Neso (moon), Neso's apsis, apocentric distance; greatest distance of a natural satellite from its parent planet (Neptune)
100 gigametres
To help compare distances at different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
this section lists lengths starting at 1011 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s (100 #1 gigametre, gigametre or 100 million kilometre, kilometres or 0.7 astronomical units).
*103 Gm (0.69 au) – diametre of Rigel
*109 Gm (0.7 au) – distance between Venus and the Sun
*149.6 Gm (93.0 million mi; 1.0 au) – average distance between the Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
and the Sun – the original definition of the astronomical unit
*163 Gm (1.09 au) – diametre of Deneb, a blue supergiant
*228 Gm (1.5 au) – distance between Mars and the Sun
*255 Gm (1.7 au) – diametre of Enif, a small red supergiant star in the constellation Pegasus (constellation), Pegasus
*511 Gm (3.4 au) – average diametre of Mira, a pulsating red giant and the progenitor of the Mira variables. It is an asymptotic giant branch star.
*570 Gm (3.8 au) – length of the tail of Comet Hyakutake measured by ''Ulysses (spacecraft), Ulysses''; the actual value could be much higher
*590 Gm (3.9 au) – diametre of the Pistol Star, a blue hypergiant star
*591 Gm (4.0 au) – minimum distance between the Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
and Jupiter
*780 Gm (5.2 au) – average distance between Jupiter and the Sun
*785 Gm (5.25 au) – diametre of Rho Cassiopeiae, a rare yellow hypergiant star
*947 Gm (6.4 au) – diametre of Antares, Antares A
*965 Gm (6.4 au) – maximum distance between the Earth and Jupiter
1 terametre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s (1012 m).
To help compare different distances, this section lists lengths starting at 1012 m (1 #1 terametre, Tm or 1 billion kilometre, km or 6.7 astronomical units).
*≈1 Tm – 6.7 au – diametre of the red supergiant Betelgeuse based on multiple angular diametre estimates
*1.032 Tm – 6.9 au – diametre of the blue hypergiant Eta Carinae (at optical depth 2/3)
*1.079 Tm – 7.2 au – one light-hour
*1.114 Tm – 7.5 au – diametre of WOH G64, a star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which recently transformed from a red hypergiant to a yellow hypergiant
*1.4 Tm – 9.5 au – average distance between Saturn and the Sun
*1.47 Tm – 9.9 au – diametre of HR 5171 A, a yellow hypergiant star.
*1.5 Tm – 10 au – estimated diametre of VV Cephei A, a red hypergiant with a blue dwarf companion.
*1.75 Tm – 11.7 au – estimated diametre of Mu Cephei, a red supergiant (possibly hypergiant) among the List of largest stars, largest-known stars.[Table 4 in ]
*2 Tm – 13.2 au – estimated diametre of VY Canis Majoris, a red hypergiant that is among the list of largest stars, largest-known stars
*2.142 Tm – 14.3 au – estimated diametre of WOH G64, prior to its transformation into a yellow hypergiant.
*2.9 Tm – 19.4 au – average distance between Uranus and the Sun
*4.4 Tm – 29.4 au – Apsis, perihelion distance of Pluto
*4.5 Tm – 30.1 au – average distance between Neptune and the Sun
*4.5 Tm – 30.1 au – inner radius of the Kuiper belt
*5.7 Tm – 38.1 au – perihelion distance of 136199 Eris, Eris
*6.0 Tm – 40.5 au – distance from Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
at which the Pale Blue Dot photograph was taken.
*7.3 Tm – 48.8 au – Apsis, aphelion distance of Pluto
*7.5 Tm – 50.1 au – outer boundary of the Kuiper Belt
10 terametres
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1013 m (10 #1 terametre, Tm or 10 billion kilometre, km or 67 astronomical units).
*10 Tm – 67 AU – diametre of a hypothetical quasi-star
*11.1 Tm – 74.2 AU – distance that ''Voyager 1'' began detecting returning particles from termination shock
*11.4 Tm – 76.2 AU – Apsis, perihelion distance of 90377 Sedna
*12.1 Tm – 70 to 90 AU – distance to termination shock (''Voyager 1'' crossed at 94 AU)
*12.9 Tm – 86.3 AU – distance to 90377 Sedna in March 2014
*13.2 Tm – 88.6 AU – distance to ''Pioneer 11'' in March 2014
*14.1 Tm – 94.3 AU – estimated radius of the Solar System
*14.4 Tm – 96.4 AU – distance to 136199 Eris, Eris in March 2014 (now near its apsis, aphelion)
*15.1 Tm – 101 AU – distance to Heliosphere#Heliosheath, heliosheath
*16.5 Tm – 111 AU – distance to ''Pioneer 10'' as of March 2014
*16.6 Tm – 111.2 AU – distance to ''Voyager 2'' as of May 2016
*18 Tm – 123.5 AU – distance between the Sun to the farthest dwarf planet in the Solar System, the Farout 2018 VG18
*20.0 Tm – 135 AU – distance to ''Voyager 1'' as of May 2016
*20.6 Tm – 138 AU – distance to ''Voyager 1'' as of late February 2017
*21.1 Tm – 141 AU – distance to ''Voyager 1'' as of November 2017
*24.8 Tm – 166 AU – distance to ''Voyager 1'' as of November 2024
*25.9 Tm – 173 AU – one light-day
*30.8568 Tm – 206.3 AU – 1 milliparsec
*55.7 Tm – 371 AU – aphelion distance of the comet Hale-Bopp
100 terametres
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1014 m (100 #1 terametre, Tm or 100 billion kilometre, km or 670 astronomical units).
*140 Tm – 937 AU – Apsis, aphelion distance of 90377 Sedna
*172 Tm – 1150 AU – Schwarzschild radius, Schwarzschild diametre of H1821+643, one of the most massive black holes known
*181 Tm – 1210 AU – one light-week
*308.568 Tm – 2063 AU – 1 centiparsec
*757 Tm – 5059 AU – radius of the Stingray Nebula
*777 Tm – 5180 AU – one light-month
1 petametre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to 1015 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s.
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1015 m (1 Pm or 1 trillion kilometre, km or 6685 astronomical units (AU) or 0.11 light-years).
*1.0 Pm = 0.105702341 light-years
*1.9 Pm ± 0.5 Pm = 12,000 AU = 0.2 light-year radius of Cat's Eye Nebula's inner core[radius = distance times sin(angular diametre/2) = 0.2 light-year. Distance = 3.3 ± 0.9 light-year, kly; angular diametre = 20 arcseconds ]
*3.08568 Pm = 20,626 AU = 1 deciparsec
*4.7 Pm = 30,000 AU = half-light-year diametre of Bok globule Barnard 68
*7.5 Pm – 50,000 AU – possible outer boundary of Oort cloud (other estimates are 75,000 to 125,000 or even 189,000 Astronomical unit, AU (1.18, 2, and 3 light-years, respectively))
*9.5 Pm – 63,241.1 AU – one light-year, the distance light travels in one year
*9.9 Pm – 66,000 AU – Apsis, aphelion distance of the C/1999 F1 (Catalina)
10 petametres
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1016 m (10 #1 petametre, Pm or 66,800 astronomical unit, AU, 1.06 light-years).
*15 Pm – 1.59 light-years – possible outer radius of Oort cloud
*20 Pm – 2.11 light-years – maximum extent of influence of the Sun's gravitational field
*30.9 Pm – 3.26 light-years – 1 parsec
*39.9 Pm – 4.22 light-years – distance to Proxima Centauri (nearest star to Sun)
*81.3 Pm – 8.59 light-years – distance to Sirius
*94.6 Pm – 1 light-decade
100 petametres
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths between 1017 m (100 #1 petametre, Pm or 11 light-years) and 1018 m (106 light-years).
*110 Pm – 12 light-years – Distance to Tau Ceti
*230 Pm – 24 light-years – Diametre of the Orion Nebula
*240 Pm – 25 light-years – Distance to Vega
*260 Pm – 27 light-years – Distance to Beta Canum Venaticorum, Chara, a star approximately as bright as the Sun. Its faintness gives an idea how the Sun would appear when viewed from this distance.
*308.568 Tm – 32.6 light-years – 1 dekaparsec
*350 Pm – 37 light-years – distance to Arcturus
*373.1 Pm – 39.44 light-years – distance to TRAPPIST-1, a star recently discovered to have 7 planets around it
*400 Pm – 42 light-years – distance to Capella (star), Capella
*620 Pm – 65 light-years – distance to Aldebaran
*750 Pm – 79.36 light-years – distance to Regulus
*900 Pm – 92.73 light-years – distance to Algol
*946 Pm – 1 light-century
1 exametre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to 1018 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s. To help compare different distances this section lists lengths between 1018 m (1 exametre, Em or 105.7 light-years) and 1019 m (10 Em or 1,057 light-years).
*1.2 Em – 129 light-years – diametre of Messier 13 (a typical globular cluster)
*1.6 Em – 172 ± 12.5 light-years – diametre of Omega Centauri (one of the largest-known globular clusters, perhaps containing over a million stars)
*3.08568 Em – 326.1 light-years – 1 hectoparsec
*3.1 Em – 310 light-years – distance to Canopus (star), Canopus according to ''Hipparcos''[Vizier catalog entry]
/ref>
*3.9 Em – 410 light-years – distance to Betelgeuse according to ''Hipparcos''
*6.2 Em – 650 light-years – distance to the Helix Nebula, located in the constellation Aquarius (constellation), Aquarius
*8.2 Em – 860 light-years – distance to Rigel according to ''Hipparcos''
*9.4 Em — 1 light-millennium – 1000 light-years
10 exametres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists distances starting at 10 exametre, Em (1019 m or 1,100 light-years).
*10.6 Em – 1,120 light-years – distance to WASP-96b
*13 Em – 1,300 light-years – distance to the Orion Nebula[
]
*14 Em – 1,500 light-years – approximate thickness of the Galactic plane, plane of the Milky Way galaxy at the Sun's location
*14.2 Em – 1,520 light-years – diametre of the NGC 604
*30.8568 Em – 3,261.6 light-years – 1 parsec, kiloparsec
*31 Em – 3,200 light-years – distance to Deneb according to ''Hipparcos''
*46 Em – 4,900 light-years – distance to OGLE-TR-56, the first extrasolar planet discovered using the extrasolar planet#Transit method, transit method
*47 Em – 5,000 light-years – distance to the Boomerang nebula, coldest place known (1 E0 K, 1 K)
*53 Em – 5,600 light-years – distance to the globular cluster Messier 4, M4 and the extrasolar planet PSR B1620-26 b within it
*61 Em – 6,500 light-years – distance to Perseus Spiral Arm (next spiral arm out in the Milky Way galaxy)
*71 Em – 7,500 light-years – distance to Eta Carinae
*94.6073 Em – 1 light-decamillennium = 10,000 light-years
100 exametres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists distances starting at 100 exametre, Em (1020 m or 11,000 light-years).
*150 Em – 16,000 light-years – diametre of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way
*200 Em – 21,500 light-years – distance to OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb
*240 Em – 25,000 light-years – distance to the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy
*260 Em – 28,000 light-years – distance to the center of the Milky Way, Galaxy
*400 Em – 48,000 light years – diametre of the Fireworks Galaxy
*830 Em – 88,000 light-years – distance to the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy
*946 Em – 1 light-centum-millennium = 100,000 light-years
1 zettametre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to 1021 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s.
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists distances starting at 1 zettametre, Zm (1021 m or 110,000 light-years).
*1.7 Zm – 179,000 light-years – distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud, largest satellite galaxy of the Milky Way
*<1.9 Zm – <200,000 light-years – revised estimated diametre of the disc of the Milky Way, Milky Way Galaxy. The size was previously thought to be half of this.
*2.0 Zm – 210,000 light-years – distance to the Small Magellanic Cloud
*2.8 Zm – 300,000 light-years – distance to the Intergalactic Wanderer, one of the most distant globular clusters of Milky Way
*8.5 Zm – 900,000 light-years – distance to the Leo I Dwarf Galaxy, farthest-known Milky Way satellite galaxy
*9.5 Zm – 1 light-megaannum = 1,000,000 light-years
10 zettametres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists distances starting at 10 zettametre, Zm (1022 m or 1.1 million light-years).
*24 Zm – 2.5 million light-years – distance to the Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest major galaxy.
*30.8568 Zm – 3.2616 million light-years – 1 parsec, megaparsec
*40 Zm – 4.2 million light-years – distance to the IC 10, a distant member of the Local Group of galaxy, galaxies
*49.2 Zm – 5.2 million light-years – width of the Local Group of galaxy, galaxies
*95 Zm – 10 million light-years – distance to the Sculptor Galaxy in the Sculptor Group of galaxies
*95 Zm – 10 million light-years – distance to the Maffei 1, the nearest giant elliptical galaxy in the Maffei 1 group of galaxies, Maffei 1 Group
100 zettametres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists distances starting at 100 zettametre, Zm (1023 m or 11 million light-years).
*140 Zm – 15 million light-years – distance to Centaurus A galaxy
*250 Zm – 27 million light-years – distance to the Pinwheel Galaxy
*280 Zm – 30 million light-years – distance to the Sombrero Galaxy
*570 Zm – 60 million light-years – approximate distance to the Virgo cluster, nearest galaxy cluster
*620 Zm – 65 million light-years – approximate distance to the Fornax cluster
*800 Zm – 85 million light-years – approximate distance to the Eridanus cluster
1 yottametre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to 1024 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s.
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists distances starting at 1 Ym (1024 m or 105.702 million light-years).
*1.2 Ym – 127 million light-years – distance to the closest observed gamma ray burst GRB 980425
*1.3 Ym – 137 million light-years – distance to the Centaurus Cluster of galaxies, the nearest large supercluster
*1.9 Ym – 201 million light-years – diametre of the Local Supercluster
*2.17 Ym – 1 light-galactic-years – 230 million light-years
*2.3 Ym – 225 to 250 million light-years – distance light travels in vacuum in one galactic year
*2.8 Ym – 296 million light-years – distance to the Coma Cluster
*3.15 Ym – 330 million light years – diametre of the Boötes Void
*3.2 Ym – 338 million light-years – distance to Stephan's Quintet
*4.7 Ym – 496 million light-years – length of the Great Wall (astronomy), CfA2 Great Wall, one of the largest observed superstructures in the Universe
*6.1 Ym – 645 million light-years – distance to the Shapley Supercluster
*9.5 Ym – 996 million light-years – diametre of the Eridanus Supervoid
10 yottametres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists distances starting at 10 yottametre, Ym (1025 m or 1.1 billion light-years). At this scale, expansion of the universe becomes significant. Distance of these objects are derived from their measured redshifts, which depends on the physical cosmology, cosmological models used.
*13 Ym – 1.37 billion light-years – length of the South Pole Wall
*13 Ym – 1.38 billion light-years – length of the Sloan Great Wall
*18 Ym – redshift 0.16 – 1.9 billion light-years – distance to the quasar 3C 273 (distance measures (cosmology)#Types of distance measures, light travel distance)
*30.8568 Ym – 3.2616 billion light-years – 1 gigaparsec
*31.2204106 Ym − 3.3 billion light-years − length of The Giant Arc, a large cosmic structure discovered in 2021
*33 Ym – 3.5 billion light-years – maximum distance of the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (light travel distance)
*37.8 Ym – 4 billion light-years – length of the Huge-LQG
*75 Ym – redshift 0.95 – 8 billion light-years – approximate distance to the supernova SN 2002dd in the Hubble Deep Field North (light travel distance)
*85 Ym – redshift 1.6 – 9 billion light-years – approximate distance to the gamma-ray burst GRB 990123 (light travel distance)
*94.6 Ym – 10 billion light-years – approximate distance to quasar OQ172
*94.6 Ym – 10 billion light-years – length of the Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall, one of the list of largest cosmic structures, largest and most massive-known cosmic structures known
100 yottametres
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists distances starting at 100 yottametre, Ym (1026 m or 11 billion light-years). At this scale, expansion of the universe becomes significant. Distance of these objects are derived from their measured redshifts, which depend on the physical cosmology, cosmological models used.
*124 Ym – redshift 7.54 – 13.1 billion light-years – Distance measures (cosmology)#Types of distance measures, light travel distance (LTD) to the quasar ULAS J1342+0928, the List of quasars#Most distant quasars, most distant-known quasar as of 2017
*130 Ym – redshift 1,000 – 13.8 billion light-years – distance (LTD) to the source of the Cosmic microwave background, cosmic microwave background radiation; radius of the observable universe measured as a LTD
*260 Ym – 27.4 billion light-years – diametre of the observable universe (double LTD)
*440 Ym – 46 billion light-years – radius of the universe measured as a comoving distance
*590 Ym – 62 billion light-years – cosmological event horizon: the largest comoving distance from which light will ever reach us (the observer) at any time in the future
*886.48 Ym – 93.7 billion light-years – the diametre of the observable universe
The observable universe is a Ball (mathematics), spherical region of the universe consisting of all matter that can be observation, observed from Earth; the electromagnetic radiation from these astronomical object, objects has had time to reach t ...
(twice the particle horizon); however, there might be unobserved distances that are even greater.
1 ronnametre
The ' ( SI symbol: ') is a unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
in the metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
equal to 1027 metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s.
To help compare different orders of magnitude
In a ratio scale based on powers of ten, the order of magnitude is a measure of the nearness of two figures. Two numbers are "within an order of magnitude" of each other if their ratio is between 1/10 and 10. In other words, the two numbers are wi ...
, this section lists distances starting at 1 Rm (1027 m or 105.7 billion light-years). At this scale, expansion of the universe becomes significant. Distance of these objects are derived from their measured redshifts, which depend on the physical cosmology, cosmological models used.
*>1 Rm – >105.7 billion light-years – size of universe beyond the observable universe, cosmic light horizon, depending on its curvature; if the curvature is zero (i.e. the universe is spatially flat), the value can be infinity#Cosmology, infinite (see Shape of the universe) as previously mentioned.
*2.764 Rm - 292.2 billion light-years – circumference of the observable universe, as it is in the shape of a sphere.
*≈101010122light-years – the possible size of the universe after cosmological inflation.
*≈∞ light-years – theoretical size of the multiverse if it exists.
See also
*Fermi problem
*Scale (analytical tool)
*Spatial scale
*The Scale of the Universe
Notes
References
External links
How Big Are Things?
– displays orders of magnitude in successively larger rooms.
– Travel across the Universe.
(Digital Nature Agency).
Scale of the universe
– interactive guide to length magnitudes
* �
Orders of Magnitude
(March 2020).
{{Portal bar, Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Science
Orders of magnitude (length),
Length
Orders of magnitude, Length
Lists by length