What Is Attometer?
An attometer is a unit used to measure very very small lengths. It is so tiny that scientists use it only for distances much smaller than an atom.
Definition
An attometer is a metric unit of length.
1 attometer is equal to 0.000000000000000001 meter. This is the same as saying 1 attometer is 10 to the power of minus 18 meters.
Because it is so small, you will not see attometers used in everyday life. They are mostly used in advanced physics to talk about extremely small particles and forces.
History / Origin
The word attometer comes from the prefix atto and the word meter.
- Meter is the basic unit of length in the metric system.
- Atto is a metric prefix that means one quintillionth of something, which is 1 divided by 1,000,000,000,000,000,000.
The prefix atto was added to the International System of Units SI in the 20th century when scientists needed names for much smaller and much larger values than before.
As research in nuclear physics and particle physics grew, people needed a clear and standard way to talk about incredibly tiny distances, so the unit attometer became useful for scientific work and writing.
Symbol & Abbreviation
The attometer has a short symbol that scientists use instead of writing the full word.
- Full name Attometer
- Symbol am
- System SI derived unit of length
The small letter a stands for the prefix atto. The small letter m stands for meter. Together they show that an attometer is a very small part of a meter.
Current Use Around the World
All around the world, the attometer is mainly used in science, not in daily life.
You may find attometers used in
- Particle physics to describe the size of very tiny particles or the distance at which forces act.
- Nuclear physics when talking about scales even smaller than the size of an atomic nucleus.
- Theoretical physics in ideas about very high energy collisions and very small length scales.
You will not see attometers used to measure things like people, buildings, or even atoms, because it is far too small. For most very small things like atoms and molecules, scientists prefer units like nanometers, picometers, or femtometers.
Example Conversions
Here are some simple conversions so you can see how small an attometer is compared to a meter and to other metric units.
From attometers to meters
- 1 attometer = 0.000000000000000001 meter
- 10 attometers = 0.00000000000000001 meter
- 1,000 attometers = 0.000000000000001 meter
From meters to attometers
- 1 meter = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 attometers
- 0.001 meter one millimeter = 1,000,000,000,000,000 attometers
Between attometers and other small units
- 1 nanometer nm = 0.000000000001 meter = 1,000,000,000 attometers
- 1 picometer pm = 0.000000000001 meter = 1,000,000,000,000 attometers
- 1 femtometer fm = 0.000000000000001 meter = 1,000,000,000,000,000 attometers
- 1 attometer = 0.000001 femtometer
Notice how fast the numbers grow when you change from meters to attometers. This shows that an attometer is an extremely tiny part of a meter.
Related Units
The attometer is part of the metric system, which uses different prefixes to show different sizes of the meter.
Here are some related units, from larger to smaller, all compared to 1 meter.
- Meter m the base unit of length in SI.
- Nanometer nm 1,000,000,000 nanometers in 1 meter.
- Picometer pm 1,000,000,000,000 picometers in 1 meter.
- Femtometer fm 1,000,000,000,000,000 femtometers in 1 meter.
- Attometer am 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 attometers in 1 meter.
As you go from meter to nanometer to picometer to femtometer to attometer, each step is 1,000 times smaller than the last one.
FAQs
How small is an attometer really
An attometer is so small that it is far smaller than an atom. If an atom were the size of a large sports stadium, an attometer would be much smaller than a tiny grain of sand inside it.
Where do scientists use attometers
Scientists use attometers in advanced physics, for example in particle physics and nuclear physics, where they talk about distances at extremely high energies and very small scales.
Is an attometer smaller than a femtometer
Yes. 1 attometer is 0.000001 femtometer. That means a femtometer is one million times larger than an attometer.
Do we use attometers in school science
Usually no. In school you are more likely to use millimeters, centimeters, meters, and maybe nanometers. Attometers are used mostly in higher level science and research.
How do I write attometer in symbols
You write attometer with the letters am. The a shows the atto prefix and the m shows the meter unit.
Is attometer part of the official SI system
Yes. The prefix atto is an approved SI prefix, and the meter is the SI base unit for length, so the attometer is an official SI unit of length.