Order of magnitude (length)
This is a compilation of lengths of various orders of magnitude for comparison purposes. The information is often to be understood as “typical values”; the converted values are rounded.
The basic unit of length in the international system of units is 1 meter ( unit symbol m ). Both the larger length measures up to 1 kilometer and the smaller ones up to the microscopic and submicroscopic units of length are the common decimal multiples .
Lengths shorter than 1 nm
1 zeptometer is a trillionth of a meter (1 cm = 10 −21 m).
1 attometer is a trillionth of a meter (1 am = 10 −18 m).
1 femtometer is a quadrillionth of a meter (1 fm = 10 −15 m).
1 picometer is a trillionth of a meter (1 pm = 10 −12 m).
1 nanometer is a billionth of a meter (1 nm = 10 −9 m) and the eponym of nanotechnology .
- 1.616 · 10 −35 m - Planck length , currently the smallest physically meaningful length
subatomic to atomic range:
- Cosmic rays contain gamma rays with a wavelength below 30 cm
- 1 fm (1 · 10 −15 m) = 0.000001 nm - approximate size of a proton and a neutron
- 10 fm (1 · 10 −14 m) = 0.00001 nm - approximate size of an atomic nucleus
- 100 pm (1 · 10 −10 m) = 0.1 nm = 1 Å (Ångström) - approximate size of a (hydrogen) atom
- 540 pm - pitch (and approximate diameter) of the protein α-helix
1 nm to 10 nm (nanometers)
- 2 nm - approximate diameter of the DNA double helix
- 4 nm - typical thickness of a lipid bilayer
- 7 nm - structure size of commercial microchips (as of 2019)
10 nm to 100 nm
- 15 nm - small viruses
- 55 nm - diameter of hemoglobin
- 80 nm - diameter of the rubella virus
100 nm to 1 μm
- 100 to 300 nm - particle size that is particularly difficult to separate, see HEPA filter
- 100 to 380 nm - wavelengths of ultraviolet light
- ≈ 300 nm - smallest bacteria
- 380 to 780 nm - wavelength of visible light, see spectral color , for other wavelengths see electromagnetic spectrum
- 700 nm - size of the largest known virus ( Megavirus chilensis )
1 μm to 10 μm (micrometers)
- 0.5 to 3 μm - diameter of respirable , carcinogenic asbestos fibers (with a length of more than 8 μm)
- 1 μm - smallest scale division of a micrometer screw in the optical range (0.001)
- 3 μm - smallest plasmodia
- 10 μm and smaller - fine dust , mostly allergenic or otherwise harmful
10 μm to 100 μm
- 10 μm (0.01 mm) - smallest scale division of a commercially available micrometer screw
- 30 μm - largest toner particle diameter
- 60 μm - human sperm
- 80 μm - normal thickness of a sheet of paper
100 μm to 1 mm
- 100 μm - approximate average diameter of a human hair
- 125 μm - telecom fiber
- 200 μm - human egg cell
- 250 μm - smallest known species of beetle
- 250 μm - diameter of the smallest endoscope (medicine)
- ≈ 260 μm - pixel pitch on a 17-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 × 1024 pixels.
- 700 μm - size of the largest known bacterium ( Thiomargarita namibiensis )
1 mm to 1 cm (millimeters)
- 1 mm - body length of the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans
- 1.67 to 2.2 mm - the thickness of the euro coins
- 5 mm - body length of a red wood ant
1 cm to 10 cm (centimeters)
- 2.22 or 2.38 cm - diameter bicycle handlebar tube in the grip area
- 2.54 cm = 1 inch
- 2.575 cm - diameter of the 2 euro coin
- 3.086 cm ≈ 3 cm - 1 attoparsec , is used ironically
- 3.5 cm - width of the 35mm film
- 7.2 cm - width of a 20 euro note
10 cm to 1 m
- 12 cm - diameter of a CD
- 12.25 cm - wavelength in the microwave oven (at 2.45 GHz )
- 17.78 cm - diameter of a single (7 ″ record)
- 19.05 cm - wavelength GPS frequency (at 1.57542 GHz)
- 22 cm - approximate diameter of a soccer ball
- 30.48 cm = 1 foot = 12 inches
- 30.48 cm - the diameter of a long-playing record
- 60 cm - typical distance from railway sleepers
- ≈ 63 cm - the average stride length assumed in architecture for a person
- ≈ 73 cm = 1 step
- 0.9144 m = 1 yard = 3 feet
1 m to 10 m (meters)
- 1 m = 1 meter
- 1.32 m - high jump record with the unicycle
- 1.435 meters - standard gauge on the railway
- 1.66 meters - the average height of an adult woman
- 1.80 meters - the average height of an adult male
- 1.8288 m = 1 filament = 1 fathoms
- 2.43 meters - height of a men's volleyball net
- 2.44 meters - height of a football goal (8 ft )
- 2.45 m - world record in high jump
- 2.50 / 2.55 / 2.60 m - typical maximum vehicle widths for cars and trucks
- 3,048 meters - height of basketball hoop (10 ft )
- 3.10 meters - mean wavelength of VHF sound broadcasting (FM)
- 6.16 m - world record in pole vault
- 7.32 meters - width of a football goal (8 yd )
- 8.95 meters - world record in long jump
10 m to 100 m
- 10.9728 m - distance of the penalty point from the goal in football (12 yard) "penalty"
- 23 m - height of the obelisk on the Place de la Concorde in Paris
- 30 m - length of a blue whale
- 55 m - height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
- 68 m - width of a soccer field in the European Cup
100 m to 1 km
- 105 m - length of a soccer field in the European Cup
- 109.73 m - total length of an American football field
- 138.75 m - height of the Great Pyramid of Giza
- 157.4 m - height of Cologne Cathedral
- 168 m - height of the Bungsberg , highest point in Schleswig-Holstein
- 182.88m = 1 Imperial Cable Length = 100 Fathoms = 600 Feet
- 185.3184 m = 1 UK cable length = 608 feet
- 219.456 m = 1 US cable length = 120 fathoms = 720 feet
- 269 m - length of the RMS Titanic
- 290 m - height of the Olympic Tower in Munich
- 324 m - height of the Eiffel Tower
- 340 m - distance traveled by sound in one second in air at room temperature; see speed of sound
- 368 m - height of the Berlin television tower
- 385 m - Height of the Belmont transmission mast , the tallest structure in the EU
- 448 m - Height of the Empire State Building
- 508 m - height of Taipei 101
- 527 m - height to the top of the mast of the World Trade Center before September 11, 2001 (to the roof 417 m)
- 527 m - Height of the Willis Tower to the top of the mast, the tallest skyscraper in the USA (to the roof 442 m)
- 541 m - Height of the One World Trade Center
- 555 m - longest wavelength of the medium wave band (at 540 kHz )
- 628 m - Height of the KVLY mast in North Dakota , the tallest structure on earth from 1963 to 1974 and from 1991 to 2008
- 646 m - height of the Konstantynow transmitter mast , which collapsed in 1991 and was the tallest structure in the world from 1974 to 1991
- 828 m - height of the Burj Khalifa , the tallest building and structure on earth
1 km to 10 km (kilometers)
- 1,280 m - span of the Golden Gate Bridge between the main pylons .
- 1,609,344 m - 1 English mile = 5280 feet
- 1,828.8 m - 1 data mile = 6,000 feet
- 1,852 m - 1 nautical mile = 1 nautical mile
- 6 km - mean wavelength of long waves
- 6 km - distance that a good hiker can cover in an hour
- 7,916 m - length of the longest German road tunnel, the Rennsteig tunnel
- 8,848 m - height of the highest mountain from sea level , Mount Everest
10 km to 100 km
- 11,034 km below sea level - Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench , the lowest known point on the earth's surface
- 12 km - distance that a brisk runner or leisurely inline skater can cover in 1 hour
- 14 km - width of the Strait of Gibraltar at its narrowest point
- 18 km - altitude of the Concorde
- 20 km - typical diameter of a neutron star
- 20 km - distance that an everyday cyclist covers in 1 hour
- 13 miles - length of Manhattan
- 34 km - width of the English Channel at its narrowest point
- 42.195 km - running distance in the marathon
- 57.091 km - The Gotthard Base Tunnel is the longest tunnel in the world.
- 98.637 km - length of the Kiel Canal
100 km to 1000 km
- 111 km - distance between two latitudes
- 217 km - length of the Ruhr
- 371 km - length of the Ems
- 386 km - the altitude of the International Space Station's orbit
- 430 km - length of the Pyrenees mountain range
- 544 km - length of the Moselle
- 575 km - west-east extension of Austria
- 744 km - length of the Weser (with Werra )
- 960 km - diameter of (1) Ceres
1,000 km to 10,000 km
- 1000 km - distance between Cologne and Königsberg i. Pr. , See also Reichsstrasse 1
- 1236 km - length of the Rhine
- 1421 km - length of the three-phase line Ekibastus – Kökschetau
- 1572 km - north-south extension of Sweden
- 2800 km - width of the Atlantic Ocean at its narrowest point ( Brazil - West Africa )
- 2889 km - length of the Danube
- 3476 km - diameter of the moon
- 3534 km - length of the Volga , the longest river in Europe
- 3800 km - north-south expansion of Europe
- 3945 km - wavelength of the longest-wave technically usable transmitter (the US sanguine system)
- 4391 km - north-south extension of Chile
- 4880 km - diameter of the planet Mercury
- 5120 km - diameter of Saturn's moon Titan
- 5276 km - diameter of Jupiter's moon Ganymede
- 6000 km - east-west extension of Europe
- 6,051 km - length of the Missouri - Mississippi , longest river in North America
- 6300 km - length of the Yangtze River , the longest river in Asia
- 6350 km - length of the Great Wall of China
- 6448 km - length of the Amazon , longest river in South America
- 6671 km - length of the Nile , longest river in Africa and the world
- 6787 km - diameter of the planet Mars
- 9289 km - length of the Trans-Siberian railway line
10,000 km to 100,000 km
- 10,000 km - typical diameter of a white dwarf
- 10,000 km - approximate height of the outer limit of the exosphere
- 10,002 km - “ Paris Meridian ” from the North Pole to the equator
- 12,104 km - diameter of the planet Venus
- 12,756 km - diameter of the earth at the equator
- 35,790 km - geostationary orbit altitude
- 40,077 km - the circumference of the earth at the equator
- 49,500 km - diameter of the planet Neptune
100,000 km to 1,000,000 km
- 142,800 km - diameter of the planet Jupiter
- 299,792.458 km = 1 light second
- 384,000 km - mean distance of the moon from the earth
Lengths greater than 1,000,000 km
- 1.39 million km - diameter of the sun
- 1.5 / 149/300 million km - distance of the Lagrange points 1, 2/4, 5/3 from the earth
- 17.99 million km = 1 light minute
- 57.91 million km - mean distance of Mercury from the sun
- 149.6 million km = 1 astronomical unit = 8.3 light minutes - mean distance between the earth and the sun
- 1.079 billion km = 1 light hour
- 1.427 billion km - mean distance of Saturn from the sun
- 5.9 billion km - the mean distance of Pluto from the sun
- 20.1 billion km - the distance of the Voyager 1 spacecraft to Earth in February 2016
- 25.902 billion km (2.5902 · 10 13 m) = 1 light day
- 9.46 trillion km (9.46 · 10 15 m) = 1 light year
- 30.857 trillion km (3.0857 · 10 16 m) = 1 parsec (pc) = about 3.26 light years
- 4.22 ly (approx. 1.3 pc or 40 · 10 12 km) - distance to the star closest to the Sun, Proxima Centauri
- 1 trillion km (1 · 10 21 m) - Estimated diameter of the Milky Way (about 33,000 pc)
- 23.84 trillion km (2.384 · 10 22 m) - distance of the Andromeda galaxy M31 (about 2.52 million light years )
- 9 million light years - length of the Virgo galaxy cluster
- up to 14 million light years - diameter of the local group (local galaxy cluster to which our Milky Way belongs)
- 150 to 200 million light years - diameter of the Virgo supercluster (galaxy supercluster containing the local group )
- 100 mega-parsec (= 326 million light years) - typical diameter of voids
- 500 million light years - the length of the Great Wall
- 1 billion light years - diameter of the largest known void and the Pisces-Cetus Supercluster Complex
- 1.37 billion light years - length of the Sloan Great Wall
- 4 billion light years - Huge Large Quasar Group (approx. Maximum extent) (1200 Mpc)
- 870 trillion km (8.7 10 26 m) - Estimated diameter of the observable universe (approx. 90 billion light years )
Web links
- Interactive visualization of views of the world at different distances ( Java applet , English)
- The Scale of the Universe 2 (interactive Flash animation, English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ AMD shows 7nm Vega II graphics cards. June 5, 2019, accessed June 9, 2019 .
- ^ John Noble Wilford: Massive Clusters of Galaxies Defy Concepts of the Universe , New York Times , November 10, 1987, accessed March 16, 2014.