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Comparison of a wide range of lengths From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following are examples of orders of magnitude for different lengths.
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2020) |
To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various lengths between meters and meters.
Factor (m) | Multiple | Value | Item |
---|---|---|---|
0 | 0 | 0 | Singularity |
10−35 | 1 Planck length | 0.0000162 qm | Planck length; typical scale of hypothetical loop quantum gravity or size of a hypothetical string and of branes; according to string theory, lengths smaller than this do not make any physical sense.[1] Quantum foam is thought to exist at this scale. |
10−24 | 1 yoctometer (ym) | 142 ym | Effective cross section radius of 1 MeV neutrinos[2] |
10−21 | 1 zeptometer (zm) | Preons, hypothetical particles proposed as subcomponents of quarks and leptons; the upper bound for the width of a cosmic string in string theory | |
7 zm | Effective cross section radius of high-energy neutrinos[3] | ||
310 zm | De Broglie wavelength of protons at the Large Hadron Collider (4 TeV as of 2012[update]) | ||
10−18 | 1 attometer (am) | Upper limit for the size of quarks and electrons | |
Sensitivity of the LIGO detector for gravitational waves[4] | |||
Upper bound of the typical size range for "fundamental strings"[1] | |||
10−17 | 10 am | Range of the weak force | |
10−16 | 100 am | 850 am | Approximate proton radius[5] |
Factor (m) | Multiple | Value | Item |
---|---|---|---|
10−15 | 1 femtometer (fm, fermi) | 1 fm | Approximate limit of the gluon-mediated color force between quarks[6][7] |
1.5 fm | Effective cross section radius of an 11 MeV proton[8] | ||
2.81794 fm | Classical electron radius[9] | ||
3 fm | Approximate limit of the meson-mediated nuclear binding force[6][7] | ||
750 to 822.25 fm | Longest wavelength of gamma rays | ||
10−12 | 1 picometer (pm) | 1.75 to 15 fm | Diameter range of the atomic nucleus[1][10] |
1 pm | Distance between atomic nuclei in a white dwarf | ||
2.4 pm | Compton wavelength of electron | ||
5 pm | Wavelength of shortest X-rays | ||
10−11 | 10 pm | 28 pm | Radius of helium atom |
53 pm | Bohr radius (radius of a hydrogen atom) | ||
10−10 | 100 pm | 100 pm | 1 ångström (also covalent radius of sulfur atom[11]) |
154 pm | Length of a typical covalent bond (C–C) | ||
280 pm | Average size of the water molecule (actual lengths may vary) | ||
500 pm | Width of protein α helix | ||
10−9 | 1 nanometer (nm) | 1 nm | Diameter of a carbon nanotube[12]
Diameter of smallest transistor gate (as of 2016)[13] |
2 nm | Diameter of the DNA helix[14] | ||
2.5 nm | Smallest microprocessor transistor gate oxide thickness (as of January 2007[update])[citation needed] | ||
3.4 nm | Length of a DNA turn (10 bp)[15] | ||
6–10 nm | Thickness of cell membrane | ||
10−8 | 10 nm | 10 nm | Upper range of thickness of cell wall in Gram-negative bacteria[16] |
10 nm | As of 2016[update], the 10 nanometer was the smallest semiconductor device fabrication node[17] | ||
40 nm | Extreme ultraviolet wavelength | ||
50 nm | Flying height of the head of a hard disk[18] | ||
10−7 | 100 nm | 121.6 nm | Wavelength of the Lyman-alpha line[19] |
120 nm | Typical diameter of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)[20] | ||
400–700 nm | Approximate wavelength range of visible light[21] |
Factor (m) | Multiple | Value | Item |
---|---|---|---|
10−6 | 1 micrometer (μm)
(also called 1 micron) |
1–4 μm | Typical length of a bacterium[22] |
4 μm | Typical diameter of spider silk[23] | ||
7 μm | Typical size of a red blood cell[24] | ||
10−5 | 10 μm | 10 μm | Typical size of a fog, mist, or cloud water droplet |
10 μm | Width of transistors in the Intel 4004, the world's first commercial microprocessor | ||
12 μm | Width of acrylic fiber | ||
17-181 μm | Width range of human hair[25] | ||
10−4 | 100 μm | 340 μm | Size of a pixel on a 17-inch monitor with a resolution of 1024×768 |
560 μm | Thickness of the central area of a human cornea[26] | ||
750 μm | Maximum diameter of Thiomargarita namibiensis, the second largest bacterium ever discovered | ||
10−3 | 1 millimeter (mm) | ~5 mm | Length of an average flea is 1–10 mm (usually <5 mm)[27] |
2.54 mm | One-tenth inch; distance between pins in DIP (dual-inline-package) electronic components | ||
5.70 mm | Diameter of the projectile in 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition | ||
10−2 | 1 centimeter (cm) | 20 mm | Approximate width of an adult human finger |
54 mm × 86 mm | Dimensions of a credit card, according to the ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 standard | ||
73–75 mm | Diameter of a baseball, according to Major League Baseball guidelines[28] | ||
10−1 | 1 decimeter (dm) | 120 mm | Diameter of a compact disc |
660 mm | Length of the longest pine cones, produced by the sugar pine[29] | ||
900 mm | Average length of a rapier, a fencing sword[30] |
Factor (m) | Multiple | Value | Item |
---|---|---|---|
1 (100) | 1 meter (m) | 1 m (exactly) | Since 2019, defined as the length of the path travelled by light in a vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second, where the second is defined by a hyperfine transition frequency of caesium. |
2.72 m | Height of Robert Wadlow, tallest-known human.[31] | ||
8.38 m | Length of a London bus (AEC Routemaster) | ||
101 | 1 decameter (dam) | 33 m | Length of the longest-known blue whale[32] |
52 m | Height of the Niagara Falls[33] | ||
93.47 m | Height of the Statue of Liberty | ||
102 | 1 hectometer (hm) | 105 m | Length of a typical football field |
137 m (147 m) | Height (present and original) of the Great Pyramid of Giza | ||
300 m | Height of the Eiffel Tower, one of the famous monuments of Paris | ||
979 m | Height of the Salto Angel, the world's highest free-falling waterfall (Venezuela) | ||
103 | 1 kilometer (km) | 2.3 km | Length of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest dam in the world[34][35] |
3.1 km | Narrowest width of the Strait of Messina, separating Italy and Sicily | ||
8.848 km | Height of Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth | ||
104 | 10 km | 10.9 km | Depth of the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, the deepest-known point on Earth's surface |
27 km | Circumference of the Large Hadron Collider, as of May 2010[update] the largest and highest energy particle accelerator | ||
42.195 km | Length of a marathon | ||
105 | 100 km | 100 km | The distance the IAU considers to be the limit to space, called the Karman line |
163 km | Length of the Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea | ||
491 km | Length of the Pyrenees, the mountain range separating Spain and France | ||
600km | Thermosphere height | ||
974.6 km | Greatest diameter of the dwarf planet Ceres.[36] | ||
106 | 1 megameter (Mm) | 2.38 Mm | Diameter of dwarf planet Pluto, formerly the smallest planet category[note 2] in the Solar System |
3.48 Mm | Diameter of the Moon | ||
5.2 Mm | Typical distance covered by the winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans automobile endurance race | ||
6.259 Mm | Length of the Great Wall of China | ||
6.371 Mm | Average radius of Earth | ||
6.378 Mm | Equatorial radius of Earth | ||
6.6 Mm | Approximate length of the two longest rivers, the Nile and the Amazon | ||
7.821 Mm | Length of the Trans-Canada Highway | ||
9.288 Mm | Length of the Trans-Siberian Railway, longest in the world |
Factor (m) | Multiple | Value | Item |
---|---|---|---|
107 | 10 Mm | 12.756 Mm | Equatorial diameter of Earth |
20.004 Mm | Length of a meridian on Earth (distance between Earth's poles along the surface)[37] | ||
40.075 Mm | Length of Earth's equator | ||
108 | 100 Mm | 142.984 Mm | Diameter of Jupiter |
299.792 Mm | Distance traveled by light in vacuum in one second (a light-second, exactly 299,792,458 m by definition of the speed of light) | ||
384.4 Mm | Moon's orbital distance from Earth | ||
109 | 1 gigameter (Gm) | 1.39 Gm | Diameter of the Sun |
5.15 Gm | Greatest mileage ever recorded by a car (3.2 million miles by a 1966 Volvo P-1800S)[38] | ||
1010 | 10 Gm | 18 Gm | Approximately one light-minute |
1011 | 100 Gm | 150 Gm | 1 astronomical unit (au); mean distance between Earth and Sun |
1012 | 1 terameter (Tm) | 1.3 Tm | Optical diameter of Betelgeuse |
1.4 Tm | Orbital distance of Saturn from Sun | ||
2 Tm | Estimated optical diameter of VY Canis Majoris, one of the largest-known stars | ||
5.9 Tm | Orbital distance of Pluto from the Sun | ||
~ 7.5 Tm | Outer boundary of the Kuiper belt | ||
1013 | 10 Tm | Diameter of the Solar System as a whole[1] | |
16.09 Tm | Total length of DNA molecules in all cells of an adult human body[39] | ||
21.49 Tm | Distance of the Voyager 1 spacecraft from Sun (as of Oct 2018[update]), the farthest man-made object so far[40] | ||
62.03 Tm | Estimated radius of the event horizon of the supermassive black hole in NGC 4889, the largest-known black hole to date | ||
1014 | 100 Tm | 180 Tm | Size of the debris disk around the star 51 Pegasi[41] |
1015 | 1 petameter (Pm) | ~7.5 Pm | Supposed outer boundary of the Oort cloud (~ 50,000 au) |
9.461 Pm | Distance traveled by light in vacuum in one year; at its current speed, Voyager 1 would need 17,500 years to travel this distance | ||
1016 | 10 Pm | 30.857 Pm | 1 parsec |
39.9 Pm | Distance to nearest star (Proxima Centauri) | ||
41.3 Pm | As of March 2013, distance to nearest discovered extrasolar planet (Alpha Centauri Bc) | ||
1017 | 100 Pm | 193 Pm | As of October 2010, distance to nearest discovered extrasolar planet with potential to support life as presently defined by science (Gliese 581 d) |
615 Pm | Approximate radius of humanity's radio bubble, caused by high-power TV broadcasts leaking through the atmosphere into outer space | ||
1018 | 1 exameter (Em) | 1.9 Em | Distance to nearby solar twin (HIP 56948), a star with properties virtually identical to the Sun[42] |
1019 | 10 Em | 9.46 Em | Average thickness of Milky Way Galaxy[43] (1,000 to 3,000 ly by 21 cm observations[44]) |
1020 | 100 Em | 113.5 Em | Thickness of Milky Way Galaxy's gaseous disk[45] |
1021 | 1 zettameter (Zm) | ||
1.54 Zm | Distance to SN 1987A, the most recent naked eye supernova | ||
1.62 Zm | Distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way) | ||
1.66 Zm | Distance to the Small Magellanic Cloud (another dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way) | ||
1.9 Zm | Diameter of galactic disk of Milky Way Galaxy[46][47][48][49] | ||
6.15 Zm | Diameter of the low surface brightness disc halo of the giant spiral galaxy Malin 1 | ||
1022 | 10 Zm | 13.25 Zm | Radius of the diffuse stellar halo of IC 1101, one of the largest-known galaxies |
24 Zm | Distance to Andromeda Galaxy | ||
30.857 Zm | 1 megaparsec | ||
50 Zm | Diameter of Local Group of galaxies | ||
1023 | 100 Zm | 300–600 Zm | Distance to Virgo cluster of galaxies |
1024 | 1 yottameter (Ym) | 2.19 Ym | Diameter of the Local Supercluster and the largest voids and filaments |
2.8 Ym | End of Greatness | ||
~5 Ym | Diameter of the Horologium Supercluster[50] | ||
9.461 Ym | Diameter of the Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex, the supercluster complex which includes Earth | ||
1025 | 10 Ym | 13 Ym | Length of the Sloan Great Wall, a giant wall of galaxies (galactic filament)[51] |
30.857 Ym | 1 gigaparsec | ||
37.84 Ym | Length of the Huge-LQG, a group of 73 quasars | ||
1026 | 100 Ym | 95 Ym | Estimated light travel distance to certain quasars. Length of the Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall, a colossal wall of galaxies, the largest and the most massive structure in the observable universe as of 2014 |
127 Ym | Estimated light travel distance to GN-z11, the most distant object ever observed | ||
870 Ym | Approximate diameter (comoving distance) of the visible universe[1] | ||
1027 | 1 Rm | 1.2 Rm | Lower bound of the (possibly infinite) radius of the universe, if it is a 3-sphere, according to one estimate using the WMAP data at 95% confidence[52] It equivalently implies that there are at minimum 21 particle horizon-sized volumes in the universe. |
[note 3] | m | m | According to the laws of probability, the distance one must travel until one encounters a volume of space identical to our observable universe with conditions identical to our own.[53][54] |
m | m | Maximum size of universe after cosmological inflation, implied by one resolution of the No-Boundary Proposal[55] |
The quectometre (SI symbol: qm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10−30 metres. To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths shorter than 10−30 m (1 qm).
The rontometre (SI symbol: rm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10−27 metres.
The yoctometre (SI symbol: ym) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10−24 metres.
The zeptometre (SI symbol: zm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10−21 metres. To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−21 m and 10−20 m (1 zm and 10 zm).
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−20 m and 10−19 m (10 zm and 100 zm).
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−19 m and 10−18 m (100 zm and 1 am).
The attometre (SI symbol: am) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10−18 metres. To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−18 m and 10−17 m (1 am and 10 am).
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−17 m and 10−16 m (10 am and 100 am).
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−16 m and 10−15 m (100 am and 1 fm).
The femtometre (SI symbol: fm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10−15 metres. In particle physics, this unit is sometimes called a fermi, also with abbreviation "fm". To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−15 meters and 10−14 meters (1 femtometer and 10 fm).
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−14 m and 10−13 m (10 fm and 100 fm).
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−13 m and 10−12 m (100 fm and 1 pm).
The picometre (SI symbol: pm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10−12 metres (1/1000000000000 m = 0.000000000001 m). To help compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 10−12 and 10−11 m (1 pm and 10 pm).
To help compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 10−11 and 10−10 m (10 pm and 100 pm).
To help compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 10−10 and 10−9 m (100 pm and 1 nm; 1 Å and 10 Å).
The nanometre (SI symbol: nm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10−9 metres (1/1000000000 m = 0.000000001 m). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−9 and 10−8 m (1 nm and 10 nm).
To help compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 10−8 and 10−7 m (10 nm and 100 nm).
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−7 and 10−6 m (100 nm and 1 μm).
The micrometre (SI symbol: μm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10−6 metres (1/1000000 m = 0.000001 m). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists some items with lengths between 10−6 and 10−5 m (between 1 and 10 micrometers, or μm).
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−5 m and 10−4 m (10 μm and 100 μm).
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−4 m and 10−3 m (100 μm and 1 mm). The term myriometer (abbr. mom, equivalent to 100 micrometers; frequently confused with the myriameter, 10 kilometers)[98] is deprecated; the decimal metric prefix myrio-[99] is obsolete[100][101][102] and was not included among the prefixes when the International System of Units was introduced in 1960.
The millimetre (SI symbol: mm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10−3 metres (1/1000 m = 0.001 m). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−3 m and 10−2 m (1 mm and 1 cm).
The centimetre (SI symbol: cm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10−2 metres (1/100 m = 0.01 m). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−2 m and 10−1 m (1 cm and 1 dm).
The decimetre (SI symbol: dm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10−1 metres (1/10 m = 0.1 m). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10 centimeters and 100 centimeters (10−1 meter and 1 meter).
10 centimeters (abbreviated to 10 cm) is equal to:
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between one meter and ten meters. Light, in vacuum, travels 1 meter in 1⁄299,792,458, or 3.3356409519815E-9 of a second.
1 meter is:
The decametre (SI symbol: dam) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10 meters (101 m). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10 and 100 meters.
10 meters (very rarely termed a decameter which is abbreviated as dam) is equal to:
The hectometre (SI symbol: hm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 100 meters (102 m). To compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 100 meters and 1,000 meters (1 kilometer).
100 meters (sometimes termed a hectometer) is equal to:
The kilometre (SI symbol: km) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000 meters (103 m). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 1 kilometer and 10 kilometers (103 and 104 meters).
1 kilometer (unit symbol km) is equal to:
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2011) |
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10 and 100 kilometers (104 to 105 meters). The myriameter[148] (sometimes also spelled myriometer; 10,000 meters) is a deprecated unit name; the decimal metric prefix myria-[99] (sometimes also written as myrio-[149][150][151]) is obsolete[100][101][102] and was not included among the prefixes when the International System of Units was introduced in 1960.
10 kilometers is equal to:
A length of 100 kilometers (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 FAI defines spaceflight to begin.
To help compare orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 100 and 1,000 kilometers (105 and 106 meters).
A distance of 100 kilometers is equal to about 62 miles (or 62.13711922 miles).
The megametre (SI symbol: Mm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000000 meters (106 m). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths starting at 106 m (1 Mm or 1,000 km).
1 megameter is equal to:
This section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2007) |
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths starting at 107 meters (10 megameters or 10,000 kilometers).
10 megameters (10 Mm) is
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths starting at 108 meters (100 megameters or 100,000 kilometers or 62,150 miles).
The gigametre (SI symbol: Gm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000000000 meters (109 m). To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 109 meters (1 gigameter (Gm) or 1 billion meters).
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1010 meters (10 gigameters (Gm) or 10 million kilometers, or 0.07 astronomical units).
To help compare distances at different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths starting at 1011 meters (100 gigameter or 100 million kilometers or 0.7 astronomical units).
The terametre (SI symbol: Tm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000000000000 meters (1012 m). To help compare different distances, this section lists lengths starting at 1012 m (1 Tm or 1 billion km or 6.7 astronomical units).
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1013 m (10 Tm or 10 billion km or 67 astronomical units).
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1014 m (100 Tm or 100 billion km or 670 astronomical units).
The petametre (SI symbol: Pm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1015 meters. To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1015 m (1 Pm or 1 trillion km or 6685 astronomical units (AU) or 0.11 light-years).
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1016 m (10 Pm or 66,800 AU, 1.06 light-years).
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths between 1017 m (100 Pm or 11 light-years) and 1018 m (106 light-years).
The exametre (SI symbol: Em) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1018 meters. To help compare different distances this section lists lengths between 1018 m (1 Em or 105.7 light-years) and 1019 m (10 Em or 1,057 light-years).
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 10 Em (1019 m or 1,100 light-years).
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 100 Em (1020 m or 11,000 light-years).
The zettametre (SI symbol: Zm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1021 meters.[56] To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 1 Zm (1021 m or 110,000 light-years).
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 10 Zm (1022 m or 1.1 million light-years).
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 100 Zm (1023 m or 11 million light-years).
The yottametre (SI symbol: Ym) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1024 meters.[56]
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 1 Ym (1024 m or 105.702 million light-years).
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 10 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 cosmological models used.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 100 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 cosmological models used.
The ronnametre (SI symbol: Rm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1027 meters.[56]
To help compare different orders of magnitude, 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 cosmological models used.
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