Orders of magnitude (length)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various lengths between 1.6×10−35 m and 1.3×1026 m.
| Factor (m) | Multiple | Value | Item |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10−35 | 1.6×10−35 m | Planck length; size of a hypothetical string; lengths smaller than this do not make any physical sense, according to current theories of physics | |
| . . . | |||
| 10−24 | 1 yoctometre (ym) | ||
| 10−21 | 1 zeptometre (zm) | ||
| 10−18 | 1 attometre (am) | upper limit for the size of quarks and electrons | |
| sensitivity of the LIGO detector for gravitational waves | |||
| 10−15 | 1 femtometre (fm) | size of a proton | |
| classical electron radius | |||
| 10−14 | 10 fm | scale of the atomic nucleus | |
| range of the weak force | |||
| 10−13 | 100 fm | ||
| 10−12 | 1 picometre (pm) | distance between atomic nuclei in a white dwarf | |
| wavelength of gamma rays | |||
| 2.4 pm | Compton wavelength of electron | ||
| 5 pm | wavelength of shortest X-rays | ||
| 10−11 | 10 pm | 25 pm | radius of hydrogen atom |
| 31 pm | radius of helium atom | ||
| 53 pm | Bohr radius | ||
| 10−10 | 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 | 1 nanometre (nm) | 1 nm | diameter of Carbon nanotube |
| 2 nm | diameter of DNA helix | ||
| 2.5 nm | Smallest transistor gate oxide thickness microprocessors (as of Jan 2007) | ||
| 3 nm | distance between a hard drive read head and the disk surface | ||
| 3.4 nm | length of a DNA turn (10 bp) | ||
| 3 × 8 nm | size of an albumin protein molecule | ||
| 6 - 10 nm | thickness of cell membrane | ||
| 10−8 | 10 nm | 10 nm | typical diameter of nanowire |
| 10 nm | thickness of cell wall in gram-negative bacteria | ||
| 20 nm | thickness of bacterial flagellum | ||
| 20 - 80 nm | thickness of cell wall in gram-positive bacteria | ||
| 40 nm | extreme ultraviolet wavelength | ||
| 45 nm | Smallest feature size of production microprocessors (as of Jan 2007) | ||
| 90 nm | human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (generally, viruses range in size from 20 nm to 450 nm) | ||
| 10−7 | 100 nm | size of chromosomes | |
| 100 nm | 90% of particles in wood smoke are smaller than this | ||
| 120 nm | typical penetrating particle size for a ULPA (Ultra Low Penetration Air) filter (removes up to 99.999% at 0.12 micrometres) and a SULPA (Super ULPA) filter (removes up to 99.9999% at 0.12 micrometres) | ||
| 121.6 nm | wavelength of the lyman-alpha line | ||
| 280 nm | near ultraviolet wavelength | ||
| 300 nm | most-penetrating particle size for a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter (N100 removes up to 99.97% at 0.3 micrometres, N95 removes up to 95% at 0.3 micrometres) | ||
| 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 | 1 micrometre (µm) | 1 µm | also called 1 micron |
| 1–3 µm | particle size that a surgical mask removes at 80-95% efficiency | ||
| 1–10 µm | diameter of typical bacterium | ||
| 1.55 µm | wavelength of light used in optical fibre | ||
| 3–5 µm | size of a human spermatozoon's head (radius by length) | ||
| 4–5 µm | Average width of strand of Spider web major ampullate (dragline) thread from Nephila species [1] | ||
| 6–8 µm | diameter of a human red blood cell | ||
| 6 µm | anthrax spore | ||
| 7 µm | diameter of the nucleus of typical eukariotic cell | ||
| 10−5 | 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 (double stranded) | ||
| 17 µm | dust mite excreta ¹ | ||
| 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 | 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 | 1 millimetre (mm) | 2.54 mm | distance between pins in old DIP (dual-inline-package) electronic components |
| 5 mm | length of average red ant | ||
| 7.62 mm | common military ammunition size | ||
| 10−2 | 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 Golf ball | ||
| 10−1 | 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 | 1 hand used 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 | ||
| 15 cm | approximate size of largest beetle species | ||
| 15 cm | length of a Bic pen with cap on | ||
| 21 cm | wavelength of the hydrogen line, a hyperfine transition of the hydrogen atom | ||
| 22 cm | diameter of a typical soccer ball | ||
| 29.98 cm | distance light travels in one nanosecond | ||
| 30.48 cm | 1 foot | ||
| 31 cm | wingspan of largest butterfly species Ornithoptera alexandrae | ||
| 50-65 cm | a pizote's tail | ||
| 66 cm | length of the longest pine cones (produced by the sugar pine) | ||
| 90 cm | average length of a rapier, a fencing sword | ||
| 91 cm | 1 yard | ||
| 100 | 1 metre | 1 m | wavelength of the lowest UHF and highest VHF radio frequency, 300 MHz |
| 1 m | approximate height of the top part of a doorknob on a door | ||
| 1.435 m | Standard gauge of railway track | ||
| 1.7 m (5 feet 7 inches) | average height of a human being | ||
| 2.44 m | height of a football goal. | ||
| 2.45 m | highest jump by a human being (Javier Sotomayor) | ||
| 2.72 m | tallest known human being (Robert Wadlow) | ||
| 2.77 - 3.44 m | wavelength of the broadcast radio FM band 87–108 MHz | ||
| 3.048 m (10 feet) | height of the basket in basketball | ||
| 5.5 m | height of tallest animal, the giraffe | ||
| 8.95 m | longest jump by a human being (Mike Powell) | ||
| 101 | 1 decametre (dam) | 10 m | wavelength of the lowest VHF and highest shortwave radio frequency, 30 MHz |
| 18.44 m (60 feet 6 inches) | distance between the pitcher's rubber and home plate on a baseball field | ||
| 20.12 m (22 yards) | 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 (90 feet) | 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 a typical football field | ||
| 70 m | length of the Bayeux Tapestry | ||
| 88.40 m | wingspan of the Antonov An-225 transport aircraft | ||
| 91.44 m | length of an American football field (100 yards, measured between the goal lines) | ||
| 93.47 m | height of the Statue of Liberty (foundation of pedestal to torch) | ||
| 102 | 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 typical football field | ||
| 109.73 m | total length of an American football field (120 yards, including the end zones) | ||
| 115.55 m | height of the world's tallest tree, a Coast redwood | ||
| 137 m (147 m) | height (present/original) of the Great Pyramid of Giza | ||
| 139.5 m | height of the world's tallest roller coaster, Kingda Ka | ||
| 187 m | shortest wavelength of the broadcast radio AM band, 1600 kHz | ||
| 299.792 m | approximate distance travelled by light in one microsecond | ||
| 300.65 m | height of the Eiffel Tower (roof) | ||
| 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. | ||
| 458 m | length of the Knock Nevis, the world's largest supertanker | ||
| 541 m (1776 ft) | height of the planned Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site | ||
| 555 m | longest wavelength of the broadcast radio AM band, 540 kHz | ||
| 637 m | present (Apr 2008) height of the Burj Dubai, the world's tallest free-standing land structure which is projected to reach 645 m (818 m including antenna) at completion in 2008 | ||
| 647 m | height of the Warsaw radio mast, formerly the tallest man-made structure, collapsed in 1991 | ||
| 979 m | height of the Salto Angel, the world's highest free-falling waterfall (Venezuela) | ||
| 103 | 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 | ||
| 1991 m | Span of the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, largest in the world as of June 2006 | ||
| 2309 m | Axial length of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest dam in the world | ||
| 8848 m | height of the highest mountain on earth, Mount Everest | ||
| 104 | 10 km | 10.911 km | depth of deepest part of the ocean, Mariana Trench |
| 13 km | narrowest width of the Strait of Gibraltar, separating Europe and Africa | ||
| 25 km | height of the highest known mountain of the solar system, Olympus Mons on Mars | ||
| 30 km | length of the longest man made dike enclosed by water on two sides, the Afsluitdijk | ||
| 31.3 km | highest parachute jump (Joseph Kittinger) | ||
| 33 km | narrowest width of the English Channel at the Strait of Dover | ||
| 34.668 km | highest manned balloon flight (Malcolm D. Ross and Victor E. Prather) | ||
| 38.422 km | length of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, as of June 2006, the longest bridge in the world | ||
| 42.195 km | length of the Marathon, the longest mainstream long-distance road running event | ||
| 53.9 km | length of the Seikan Tunnel, as of February 2006, the longest in the world | ||
| 77.1 km | total length of the Panama Canal | ||
| 90 km | width of the Bering Strait | ||
| 105 | 100 km | 111 km | one degree of latitude on Earth |
| 163 km | length of the Suez Canal | ||
| 300 km | the approximate distance travelled by light in one millisecond | ||
| 560 km | distance of Bordeaux-Paris, formerly the longest one-day professional cycling race | ||
| 804.67 km (500 miles) | distance of the Indy 500 automobile race | ||
| 975 km | greatest diameter of the largest solar system asteroid,[1] 1 Ceres | ||
| 106 | 1,000 km = 1 megametre (Mm) | 2,390 km | diameter of dwarf planet Pluto, formerly the smallest "planet"[1] of our solar system |
| 3,480 km | diameter of the Moon | ||
| 5,200 km | typical distance covered by the winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans automobile endurance race | ||
| 6,400 km | length of the Great Wall of China | ||
| 6,600 km | approximate length of the two longest rivers, the Nile and the Amazon | ||
| 7,821 km | length of the Trans-Canada Highway | ||
| 9,288 km | length of the Trans-Siberian Railway, longest in the world | ||
| 107 | 10,000 km | 12,756 km | equatorial diameter of the Earth |
| 40,075 km | length of the Earth's equator | ||
| 108 | 100,000 km | 142,984 km | diameter of Jupiter |
| 299,792.458 km | distance travelled by light in one second | ||
| 384,000 km = 384 Mm | Moon's orbital distance from Earth | ||
| 109 | 1 million km = 1 gigametre (Gm) | 1,390,000 km = 1.39 Gm | diameter of the Sun |
| 4,200,000 km = 4.2 Gm | greatest mileage ever recorded by a car (A 1966 Volvo P-1800S, still driving) | ||
| 1010 | 10 million km | 18 million km | approximately one light-minute |
| 1011 | 100 million km | 150 million km = 150 Gm | 1 astronomical unit (AU); mean distance between Earth and Sun. |
| ~ 900 Gm | optical diameter of Betelgeuse (~600 x Sun) | ||
| 1012 | 1000 million km = 1 terametre (Tm) | 1.4 ×109 km | orbital distance of Saturn from Sun |
| ~ 3 ×109 km | estimated optical diameter of VY Canis Majoris, as of 2007 the largest known star (~2000 x Sun) | ||
| 5.9 ×109 km = 5.9 Tm | orbital distance of Pluto from Sun | ||
| ~ 7.5 ×109 km = 7.5 Tm | outer boundary of the Kuiper belt, inner boundary of the Oort cloud (~ 50 AU) | ||
| 1013 | 10 Tm | 15.91×109 km = 15.91 Tm | distance of the Voyager 1 spacecraft from sun (as of May 2008), the farthest man-made object so far [2] |
| 1014 | 100 Tm | ||
| 1015 | 1 petametre (Pm) | ~ 7.5 ×1012 km = 7.5 Pm | supposed outer boundary of the Oort cloud (~ 50,000 AU) |
| 9.46×1012 km = 9.46 Pm = 1 light year |
distance travelled by light in one year; at its current speed, Voyager 1 would need 17,500 years to travel this distance | ||
| 1016 | 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) | ||
| 10.4 light-years = 98.4 Pm | as of September 2007, distance to nearest discovered extrasolar planet (Epsilon Eridani b) | ||
| 1017 | 100 Pm | 20.4 light-years = 193 Pm | as of September 2007, distance to nearest discovered extrasolar planet with potential to support life as we know it (Gliese 581 c) |
| 6.15×1017 m = 615 Pm = 65 light-years | approximate radius of humanity's radio bubble, caused by high-power TV broadcasts leaking through the atmosphere into outer space | ||
| 1018 | 1 exametre (Em) | 200 light-years = 1.9 Em | as of October 2007, distance to nearest discovered solar twin (HIP 56948), a star with properties virtually identical to our Sun [2] |
| 1019 | 10 Em | ||
| 1020 | 100 Em | 10,000 light-years | |
| 1021 | 1 zettametre (Zm) | 100,000 light-years | diameter of galactic disk of Milky Way Galaxy |
| 50 kiloparsecs | distance to SN 1987A, the most recent naked eye supernova | ||
| 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 Zm | distance to the Small Magellanic Cloud (another dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way) | ||
| 1022 | 10 Zm | 22.3 Zm = 2.36 million light-years = 725 kiloparsecs |
distance to Andromeda Galaxy |
| 50 Zm (1.6 Mpc) | diameter of Local Group of galaxies | ||
| 1023 | 100 Zm | 300–600 Zm = 10–20 megaparsecs | distance to Virgo cluster of galaxies |
| 1024 | 1 yottametre (Ym) | 200 million light-years = 2 Ym = 60 megaparsecs |
diameter of the Local Supercluster |
| 500 million light-years = 5 Ym = 150 megaparsecs |
|||
| 1025 | 10 Ym | ||
| 1026 | 100 Ym | 1×1010 light-years = 1026 m = 100 Ym |
estimated light travel distance to certain quasars |
| 92×109 light years = 9.2×1026 m = 920 Ym |
approx. diameter (comoving distance) of the visible universe | ||
| 1053 | 1×1029 Ym | 1×1037 light years | approx. size of the entire (non-visible) universe / according to cosmic inflation theory. |
[edit] See also
- Powers of Ten, a 1977 short documentary film which depicts the relative scale of the Universe in factors of ten.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b The exact category (asteroid/dwarf planet/planet) to which particular solar system objects belong, has been subject to some revision since the discovery of extrasolar planets and trans-Neptunian objects
- ^ Shiga, David. Sun's 'twin' an ideal hunting ground for alien life. New Scientist. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
[edit] External links
- Secret Worlds: The Universe Within, a Java animation which presents the notion of scale from the galaxy (10 millions light years, 1023 m) to the quark (100 attometres, 10−16 m); Molecular Expressions, State University of Florida
- Powers of Ten Travel across the Universe. Altering perspective by changing scale by just a few powers of ten (interactive)
