| Section | Range (m) | Unit | Example Items | | ≥ | < | | Subatomic | 0 | 10−15 | am | electron, quark, string | | Atomic to Cellular | 10−15 | 10−12 | fm | proton, neutron | | 10−12 | 10−9 | pm | wavelength of gamma rays and X-rays, hydrogen atom | | 10−9 | 10−6 | nm | DNA helix, virus, wavelength of optical spectrum | | Human Scale | 10−6 | 10−3 | µm | bacterium, fog water droplet, human hair[1] | | 10−3 | 100 | mm | mosquito, golf ball, soccer ball | | 100 | 103 | m | human being, American football field, Eiffel Tower | | 103 | 106 | km | Mount Everest, length of Panama Canal, asteroid | | Astronomical | 106 | 109 | Mm | the Moon, Earth, one light-second | | 109 | 1012 | Gm | Sun, one light-minute, Earth's orbit | | 1012 | 1015 | Tm | orbits of outer planets, Solar System | | 1015 | 1018 | Pm | one light-year; distance to Proxima Centauri | | 1018 | 1021 | Em | galactic arm | | 1021 | 1024 | Zm | Milky Way, distance to Andromeda Galaxy | | 1024 | ∞ | Ym | visible universe | [edit] Detailed List To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various lengths between 1.6 × 10−35 m and 1.3 × 1026 m. [edit] Subatomic [edit] Atomic to Cellular [edit] Human Scale Click on the thumbnail image to jump to the desired order of length magnitude article: top-left is 1E-6m (10 −6), lower-right is 1E5m (10 5). (Image description) | Factor (m) | Multiple | Value | Item | | 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[citation needed] | | 7 µm | diameter of a red blood cell[13] | | 10−5 | 10 µm | 10 µm | typical size of a fog, mist or cloud water droplet | | 12 µm | width of Acrylic fibre | | 25.4 µm | 1/1000 inch, commonly referred to as 1 mil | | 10−4 | 100 µm | 100 µm | width of a strand of human hair[13] | | 200 µm | typical length of Paramecium caudatum, a ciliate protist | | 300 µm | diameter of Thiomargarita namibiensis, the largest bacterium ever discovered | | 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 | | 4.267 cm | diameter of a Golf ball | | 10−1 | 1 decimetre (dm) | 10 cm | wavelength of the highest UHF radio frequency, 3 GHz | | 30.48 cm | 1 foot | | 91 cm | 1 yard | | 100 | 1 metre | 1 m | wavelength of the lowest UHF and highest VHF radio frequency, 300 MHz | | 1.7 m (5 feet 7 inches) | average height of a human | | 8.38 m | The length of a London Bus (Routemaster) | | 101 | 1 decametre (dam) | 10 m | wavelength of the lowest VHF and highest shortwave radio frequency, 30 MHz | | 33 m | length of longest blue whale measured, the largest animal[14] | | 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 | | 137 m (147 m) | height (present/original) of the Great Pyramid of Giza | | 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 | | 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 | | 90 km | width of the Bering Strait | | 105 | 100 km | 111 km | distance covered by one degree of latitude on Earth's surface | | 163 km | length of the Suez Canal | | 974.6 km | greatest diameter[15] of the dwarf planet,[note 1] Ceres | [edit] Astronomical  An illustration of the sizes of planets and stars Click on the thumbnail image to jump to the desired order of length magnitude: top-left is 1e6m, lower-right is 1e17m. (Image description) | Factor (m) | Multiple | Value | Item | | 106 | 1,000 km = 1 megametre (Mm) | 2,390 km | diameter of dwarf planet Pluto, formerly the smallest planet category[note 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 | | diameter of our Solar System as a whole[2] | | 16.25 × 109 km = 16.25 Tm | distance of the Voyager 1 spacecraft from sun (as of Feb 2009[update]), the farthest man-made object so far[16] | | 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) | | 65 light-years = 6.15 × 1017 m = 615 Pm | 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 [17] | | 1019 | 10 Em | 1,000 light-years = 9.46 Em or 9.46 × 1015 km | average thickness of Milky Way Galaxy[18] (1000 to 3000 ly by 21 cm observations[19]) | | 1020 | 100 Em | 12,000 light-years = 113.5 Em or 1.135 × 1017 km | thickness of Milky Way Galaxy's gaseous disk[20] | | 1021 | 1 zettametre (Zm) | 100,000 light-years | diameter of galactic disk of Milky Way Galaxy[2] | | 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 and the largest voids and filaments. | 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[2] | [edit] See also [edit] References - ^ According to The Physics Factbook, the diameter of human hair ranges from 17 to 181 µm. Ley, Brian (1999). "Width of a Human Hair". The Physics Factbook. http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1999/BrianLey.shtml.
- ^ a b c d e f Cliff Burgess; Fernando Quevedo (November 2007). "The Great Cosmic Roller-Coaster Ride" (print). Scientific American (Scientific American, Inc.): p. 55.
- ^ Carl R. Nave. "Cowan and Reines Neutrino Experiment". http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/particles/cowan.html#c1. Retrieved 2008-12-04. (6.3 x 10−44 cm2, which gives an effective radius of about 2 x 10−23 m)
- ^ Carl R. Nave. "Neutron Absorption Cross-sections". http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/particles/neutrino3.html#c2. Retrieved 2008-12-04. (area for 20 GeV about 10 x 10−42 m2 gives effective radius of about 2 x 10−21 m; for 250 GeV about 150 x 10−42 m2 gives effective radius of about 7 x 10−21 m)
- ^ New Scientist - Our world may be a giant hologram
- ^ Carl R. Nave. "Scattering Cross Section". http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/nuclear/crosec.html. Retrieved 2009-02-10. (diameter of the Scattering Cross Section of an 11 MeV proton with a target proton)
- ^ NIST. CODATA Value: classical electron radius. Retrieved 2009-02-10
- ^ H. E. Smith. "The Scale of the Universe". UCSD. http://cass.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/scale.html. Retrieved 2009-02-10. "~10-13cm"
- ^ Mark Winter (2008). "WebElements Periodic Table of the Elements / Sulfur / Radii". http://www.webelements.com/sulfur/atom_sizes.html. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ Flahaut, E.; Bacsa R, Peigney A, Laurent C. (2003). "Gram-Scale CCVD Synthesis of Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes". Chemical Communications 12: 1442–1443. doi:10.1039/b301514a. http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/Journals/CC/article.asp?doi=b301514a. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
- ^ Cohn, J. University of California, Berkeley Lyman alpha systems and cosmology. Retrieved 2009-02-21
- ^ a b Color
- ^ a b DNA From The Beginning, Classical Genetics, section 6: Genes are real things., "Amination" section, final slide
- ^ "Animal Records". Smithsonian National Zoological Park. http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/AnimalRecords/. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
- ^ Thomas, P. C.; Parker, J. Wm.; McFadden, L. A.; et al. (2005). "Differentiation of the asteroid Ceres as revealed by its shape". Nature 437: 224–226. doi:10.1038/nature03938. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005Natur.437..224T. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
- ^ Spacecraft escaping the Solar System
- ^ Shiga, David. "Sun's 'twin' an ideal hunting ground for alien life". New Scientist. http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn12725-suns-twin-an-ideal-hunting-ground-for-alien-life.html. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
- ^ Christian, Eric; Samar, Safi-Harb. "How large is the Milky Way?". http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/980317b.html. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
- ^ Duncan, Martin (2008). "Physics 216 – Introduction to Astrophysics". http://www.physics.queensu.ca/~phys216/ch16B.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
- ^ "Milky Way fatter than first thought". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press. 2008-02-20. http://news.smh.com.au/milky-way-fatter-than-first-thought/20080220-1tbv.html. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
[edit] External links - How Big Are Things? displays orders of magnitude in successively larger rooms
- 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)
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