Nanometre | |
---|---|
Unit system | metric |
Unit of | length |
Symbol | nm |
1 nm in ... | ... is equal to ... |
SI units | ×10−9 m 1 |
Natural units |
×1025 6.1877ℓP 18.897a0 |
imperial/US units |
3.2808×10−9 ft 3.9370×10−8 in |
The nanometre (International spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: nm) or nanometer (American spelling) is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one billionth of a metre (000001 m). The name combines the 0.000SI prefix nano- (from the Ancient Greek νάνος, nanos, "dwarf") with the parent unit name metre (from Greek μέτρον, metrοn, "unit of measurement"). It can be written in scientific notation as ×10−9 m, in 1engineering notation as 1 E−9 m, and is simply 1/000000000 1 metres. One nanometre equals ten ångströms. When used as a prefix for something other than a unit of measure (as in "nanoscience"), nano refers to nanotechnology, or phenomena typically occurring on a scale of nanometres (see nanoscopic scale).