Nanotechnology

Appendix

Measurement Scales and Glossary

Measurements

1,000nm = 1μm 1,000μm = 1mm 1,000,000μm = 1m

Scale of insects

millimetres: one thousandth of a metre = 0.001 metre = 1mm (1 millimetre) = 10⁻³

Scale of biological cells

micrometres/microns: one millionth metre = 0.000001 metre = 1mm (1 micrometre or 1 micron) = 10⁻⁶

Scale of atoms and molecules

nanometres: one thousand millionth of a metre = 0.000000001 metre = 1nm (1 nanometre) = 10⁻⁹

Scale of sub-atomic particles/quantum mechanical scale

picometres: one million millionth of a metre = 0.000000000001 metre = 1pm (1 picometre) = 10⁻¹²

Nanoscale objects – examples of approximate sizes

0.1nm (nanometre) = diameter of a hydrogen atom 1nm = ten hydrogen atoms in a row

0.8nm = amino acid

2nm = ...