Orders of magnitude (length)
|
|
| Decade of Length | Length using SI prefixes | Length of Item | Item |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-35 m | 1.6×10-35 m | Planck length; lengths smaller than this do not make any physical sense, according to current theories of physics | |
. . .
| |||
| 10-24 m | 1 yoctometre (ym) | ||
| 10-21 m | 1 zeptometre (zm) | ||
| 10-18 m | 1 attometre (am) | size of a quark | |
| sensitivity of the LIGO detector for gravitational waves | |||
| 10-15 m | 1 femtometre (fm) | size of a proton | |
| classical electron | |||
| 10-14 m | 10 fm | scale of the atomic nucleus | |
| range of the weak nuclear force | |||
| 10-13 m | 100 fm | Compton wavelength of electron | |
| 10-12 m | 1 picometre (pm) | distance between atomic nuclei in a white dwarf | |
| wavelength of gamma rays | |||
| 5 pm | wavelength of shortest X-rays | ||
| 10-11 m | 10 pm | 25 pm | radius of hydrogen atom |
| 31 pm | radius of helium atom | ||
| 10-10 m | 100 pm | wavelength of X rays | |
| 100 pm | 1 Ångström | ||
| 100 pm (0.1 nm) | covalent radius of sulfur atom | ||
| 126 pm (0.126 nm) | covalent radius of ruthenium atom | ||
| 135 pm (0.135 nm) | covalent radius of technetium atom | ||
| 153 pm (0.153 nm) | covalent radius of silver atom | ||
| 154 pm (0.154 nm) | length of a typical covalent bond (C-C). | ||
| 155 pm (0.155 nm) | covalent radius of zirconium atom | ||
| 175 pm (0.175 nm) | covalent radius of thulium atom | ||
| 225 pm (0.225 nm) | covalent radius of caesium atom | ||
| 500 pm (0.50 nm) | width of protein α helix | ||
| 10-9 m | 1 nanometre (nm) | 2 nm | diameter of DNA helix |
| 10-8 m | 10 nm | 20 nm | thickness of bacterial flagellum |
| 40 nm | extreme ultraviolet wavelength | ||
| 90 nm | human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (generally, viruses range in size from 20 nm to 450 nm) | ||
| 100 nm | 90% of particles in wood smoke are smaller than this | ||
| 10-7 m | 100 nm | size of chromosomes | |
| 100 nm | maximum particle size that can fit through a surgical mask | ||
| 120 nm | maximum particle size that can fit through a ULPA filter[1] (http://www.ristenbatt.com/filt_eff.htm) | ||
| 280 nm | near ultraviolet wavelength | ||
| 300 nm | maximum particle size that can fit through a HEPA filter | ||
| 380-430 nm | wavelength of violet light -- see color and optical spectrum | ||
| 430-450 nm | wavelength of indigo light | ||
| 450-500 nm | wavelength of blue light | ||
| 500-520 nm | wavelength of cyan light | ||
| 520-565 nm | wavelength of green light | ||
| 565-590 nm | wavelength of yellow light | ||
| 590-625 nm | wavelength of orange light | ||
| 625-740 nm | wavelength of red light | ||
| 10-6 m | 1 micrometre (µm) | 1-10 µm | diameter of typical bacterium |
| 1.55 µm | wavelength of light used in optical fibre | ||
| 6-8 µm | diameter of a human red blood cell | ||
| 6 µm | anthrax spore | ||
| 7 µm | width of strand of spider web [2] (http://www.carnicom.com/micro2.htm) | ||
| 7 µm | diameter of the nucleus of typical eukariotic cell | ||
| 10-5 m | 10 µm | 10 µm | typical size of a fog, mist or cloud water droplet |
| 10 µm | width of cotton fibre | ||
| 10.6 µm | wavelength of light emitted by a carbon dioxide laser | ||
| 12 µm | width of acrylic fibre | ||
| 13 µm | width of nylon fibre | ||
| 14 µm | width of polyester fibre | ||
| 15 µm | width of silk fibre | ||
| 17 µm | dust mite excreta ¹ (http://www.ristenbatt.com/filt_eff.htm) | ||
| 20 µm | width of wool fibre | ||
| 25.4 µm | 1/1000 inch, commonly referred to as 1 mil | ||
| 50 µm | typical length of Euglena gracilis, a flagellate protist | ||
| 80 µm | average width of human hair (ranges from 18 to 180 µm) | ||
| 10-4 m | 100 µm | 125 µm | dust mite |
| 200 µm | typical length of Paramecium caudatum, a ciliate protist | ||
| 300 µm | diameter of Thiomargarita namibiensis, the largest bacterium ever discovered | ||
| 500 µm | MEMS micro-engine | ||
| 500 µm | diameter of a human ovum | ||
| 500 µm | typical length of Amoeba proteus, an amoeboid protist | ||
| 10-3 m | 1 millimetre (mm) | 2.54 mm | distance between pins in old DIP (dual-inline-pins) electronic components |
| 5 mm | length of average red ant | ||
| 7.62 mm | common military ammunition size | ||
| 10-2 m | 1 centimetre (cm) | 1.5 cm | length of a large mosquito |
| 2.54 cm | 1 inch | ||
| 3.1 cm | 1 attoparsec (10-18 parsecs) | ||
| 4.267 cm | diameter of a golfball | ||
| 10-1 m | 1 decimetre (dm) | 10 cm | wavelength of the highest UHF radio frequency, 3 GHz |
| 10 cm | diameter of the cervix upon entering the second stage of labour | ||
| 10.16 cm | Hand using in measuring height of horses (4 inches) | ||
| 12 cm | wavelength of the 2.45 GHz ISM radio band | ||
| 15 cm | height of a Lilliputian from Gulliver's Travels | ||
| 30.48 cm | 1 foot | ||
| 50-65 cm | a pizote's tail | ||
| 66 cm | length of the longest pine cones (produced by the sugar pine) | ||
| 89 cm | average adult height of a Hobbit | ||
| 90 cm | average length of a rapier, a fencing sword | ||
| 91 cm | 1 yard | ||
| 1 m | 1 metre | 1 m | wavelength of the lowest UHF and highest VHF radio frequency, 300 MHz |
| 1.7 m (5 feet 7 inches) | average person's height | ||
| 1.435m | Standard gauge of railway track | ||
| 2.77 - 3.44 m | wavelength of the broadcast radio FM band 108 - 87 MHz | ||
| 3.048 m (10 feet) | height of the basket in basketball | ||
| 5.5 m | height of tallest animal, the giraffe | ||
| 10 m | 1 decametre (dam) | 10 m | wavelength of the lowest VHF and highest shortwave radio frequency, 30 MHz |
| 18.44 m | distance between the pitcher's rubber and home plate on a baseball field | ||
| 20 m | length of a cricket pitch | ||
| 21 m | height of High Force waterfall in England. | ||
| 23 m | height of the obelisk of the Place de la Concorde, Paris. | ||
| 25 m | wavelength of the broadcast radio shortwave band at 12 MHz | ||
| 27.43 m | distance between bases on a baseball field | ||
| 30 m | length of a blue whale, the largest animal | ||
| 31 m | wavelength of the broadcast radio shortwave band at 9.7 MHz | ||
| 40 m | average depth beneath the seabed of the Channel tunnel | ||
| 49 m | width of an American football field (53 1/3 yards) | ||
| 49 m | wavelength of the broadcast radio shortwave band at 6.1 MHz | ||
| 52 m | height of Niagara Falls | ||
| 55 m | height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa | ||
| 62 m | Height of Pyramid of Djoser | ||
| 70 m | width of soccer field | ||
| 70 m | length of the Bayeux Tapestry | ||
| 91.44 m | length of an American football field (100 yards, measured between the goal lines) | ||
| 100 m | 1 hectometre (hm) | 100 m | wavelength of the lowest shortwave radio frequency and highest medium wave radio frequency, 3 MHz |
| 105 m | length of a soccer field | ||
| 109.73 m | total length of an American football field (120 yards, including the end zones) | ||
| 112.34 m | height of the world's tallest tree, a Coast redwood | ||
| 137 m | height of the Great Pyramid of Giza | ||
| 147 m | original height of the Great Pyramid of Giza | ||
| 168 m | height of the Bungsberg, highest point in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany | ||
| 187 m | shortest wavelength of the broadcast radio AM band, 1600 kHz | ||
| 193 m | the approximate length of New Jersey State Highway 59 | ||
| 244 m | height of the City Gate building in Ramat-Gan, Israel | ||
| 300 m | height of the Eiffel Tower | ||
| 340 m | distance sound travels in air in one second; see speed of sound | ||
| 400-500 m | approximate heights of the world's tallest skyscrapers of the past 70 years. | ||
| 541 m (1,776 ft) | height of the planned Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site | ||
| 553.33 m | height of the CN Tower, the world's tallest free-standing land structure | ||
| 555 m | longest wavelength of the broadcast radio AM band, 540 kHz | ||
| 647 m | height of the Warsaw radio mast, formerly the tallest man-made structure, collapsed in 1991 | ||
| 1,000 m | 1 kilometre (km) | 1 km | wavelength of the lowest medium wave radio frequency, 300 kHz |
| 1609 m | 1 international mile | ||
| 1852 m | 1 nautical mile | ||
| 8848 m | height of the highest mountain, Mount Everest | ||
| 10,000 m | 10 km | 10,911 m | Mariana Trench |
| 33 km | narrowest width of the English Channel at the Strait of Dover | ||
| 100,000 m | 100 km | 111 km | one degree of latitude on Earth |
| 106 m | 1,000 km = 1 megametre (Mm) | 3,480 km | diameter of the Moon |
| 6,400 km | length of the Great Wall of China | ||
| 107 m | 10,000 km | 12,756 km 40,075 km | equatorial diameter of the Earth length of the Earth's equator |
| 108 m | 100,000 km | 384,000 km = 384 Mm | Moon's orbital distance from Earth |
| 109 m | 1 million km = 1 gigametre (Gm) | 1,390,000 km = 1.39 Gm | diameter of the Sun |
| 1010 m | 10 million km | ||
| 1011 m | 100 million km | 150 million km = 150 Gm | 1 astronomical unit (AU); mean distance between Earth and Sun. |
| 1012 m | 1000 million km = 1 terametre (Tm) | 1.4 × 109 km | orbital distance of Saturn from Sun |
| 5.9 × 109 km = 5.9 Tm | orbital distance of Pluto from Sun | ||
| 1013 m | 10 Tm | 13.8 × 109 km = 13.8 Tm | distance of the Voyager 1 spacecraft from sun (May 2004), the farthest man-made object so far |
| 1014 m | 100 Tm | ||
| 1015 m | 1 petametre (Pm) | 9.46 × 1012 km = 9.46 Pm = 1 light year | distance travelled by light in one year |
| 1016 m | 10 Pm | 3.2616 light years (3.08568×1016 m = 30.8568 Pm) | 1 parsec |
| 4.22 light years = 39.9 Pm | distance to nearest star (Proxima Centauri) | ||
| 1017 m | 100 Pm | ||
| 1018 m | 1 exametre (Em) | ||
| 1019 m | 10 Em | ||
| 1020 m | 100 Em | 100,000 light years | diameter of galactic disk of Milky Way Galaxy |
| 1021 m | 1 zettametre (Zm) | 52 kiloparsecs (1.6 × 1021 m = 1.6 Zm) | distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way) |
| 54 kiloparsecs (1.66 × 1021 m = 1.66 Zm) | distance to the Small Magellanic Cloud (another dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way) | ||
| 1022 m | 10 Zm | 22.3 Zm (2.36 million light years = 725 kiloparsecs = 22.3 Zm) | distance to Andromeda Galaxy |
| 50 Zm (1.6 Mpc) | diameter of Local Group of galaxies | ||
| 1023 m | 100 Zm | 300-600 Zm (10-20 megaparsecs) | distance to Virgo cluster of galaxies |
| 1024 m | 1 yottametre (Ym) | 200 million light years (2 Ym, 60 megaparsecs) | diameter of the Local Supercluster |
| 500 million light years (5 Ym, 150 megaparsecs) | length of Great Wall, the largest observed superstructure in the universe | ||
| 1025 m | 10 Ym | ||
| 1026 m | 100 Ym | 10 × 109 light years | estimated distance to certain quasars, the farthest observed objects in the universe |
| 13.7 × 109 light years = Template:Sn m = 130 Ym | distance the cosmic background radiation has travelled since the Big Bang | ||