Nanometre

Nanometre

A nanometre (symbol: nm) is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one billionth (short scale) of a metre (0.000000001 m). The name combines the SI 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 1×10^-9 m, in engineering notation as 1 E-9 m, and is simply 1/1,000,000,000 metres.

Usage

The nanometre is often used to express dimensions on an atomic scale: the diameter of a helium atom, for example, is about 0.1 nm, and that of a ribosome is about 20 nm. The nanometre is also commonly used in the field of nanotechnology.

History

The term "nanometre" became more widely used with the advent of technology that could deal with such small scales, such as the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) in the early 1980s. The STM was the first device that allowed scientists to manipulate atoms individually.

See also

• Micrometre
• Nanotechnology
• Scanning tunneling microscope
• Atomic scale

Nanometre Resources
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