A Note On Measures
Almost all nanoscience is discussed using SI (mostly metric) measurement units. This may not be instinctive to readers brought up in the American system and not all the smaller measurements are frequently used. A quick list of small metric measures follows to help set the scale as we move forward into the world of the very small.
| SI Unit (abbreviation) | Description |
|---|---|
| meter (m) | Approximately three feet or one yard |
| centimeter (cm) | 1/100 of a meter, around half an inch |
| millimeter (mm) | 1/1,000 of a meter |
| micrometer (μm) | 1/1,000,000 of a meter; also called a micron, this is the scale of most integrated circuits and MEMS devices |
| nanometer (nm) | 1/1,000,000,000 of a meter; the size scale of single small molecules and nanotechnology |
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