How small is nano? Grasping the smallness of the nanoscale is not easy, but it is very important. These resources give you an idea of how to start thinking about the world at the nanoscale.

This short film helps put size in perspective by using powers of 10. The film ends at the level of a carbon atom, far smaller than 1 nanometer.

 

Terms and how we measure

Science and engineering use the metric system to measure things. The metric system is based on powers of 10. In the United States, we still widely use US customary units- inches, feet, yards, miles, pounds, tons, etc. If you need an intro or review of the metric system, this video is a good one: Learn the Metric System in 5 Minutes.

 

 

The chart below shows common size units, different ways we note them and examples of about how big each unit is.

Common Size Units and Examples
Scientific Symbol Metric Unit of Measure Magnitude Powers of 10 Magnitude as a number English Expression About how big? Image
m Meter 100 1 One A bit bigger than a yardstick yardstick illustration
cm Centimeter 10-2 0.01

One Hundredth of a meter

 Width of a fingernail Fingernail illustration
mm Millimeter 10-3 0.001 One Thousandth Thickness of a dime Illustration of a dime
μm Micrometer or Micron 10-6 0.000001 One Millionth A single cell Illustration of a cell
nm Nanometer 10-9 0.000000001 One Billionth 10 hydrogen atoms lined up Illustration of 10 hydrogen atoms
Å Angstrom 10-10 0.0000000001 Ten Billionth A large atom Illustration of a large atom
pm Picometer 10-12 0.000000000001 One Trillionth A helium atom is 62 pico Illustration of a helium atom

 

Use this link to look at the size of things in the universe. Click your language to start then use the scroll bar to zoom. Click on an object to learn more. https://htwins.net/scale2/

You can use the following interactive scale from the University of Utah to zoom in on cells and other biological structures by sliding the toggle below the graphic.https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/cells/scale/

Watch this video from Khan Academy called Scale of the Small: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/universe-scale-topic/scale-earth-galaxy-tutorial/v/scale-of-the-small

 
Size and Scale game cover art

Size and Scale game

What's smaller? The length of an amoeba or the width of a muscle cell ? The answer may surprise you. This size and scale activity is an exercise to test your knowledge of the nanoscale!
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

For Salish Kootenai College Upward Bound Campers

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