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exagram

What Is exagram?

An exagram is a metric unit used to measure very large amounts of mass. It is so big that we almost never use it in everyday life. Scientists may use it when talking about the mass of very large things, like planets or huge groups of objects.

Definition

An exagram is a unit of mass in the metric system.

1 exagram = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 grams.

You can also write this as:

  • 1 exagram = 1018 grams
  • 1 exagram = 1015 kilograms
  • 1 exagram = 1012 metric tons

This means that one exagram is equal to one billion billion grams. It is much bigger than a kilogram, which is the usual metric unit for mass in daily life.

History / Origin

The exagram comes from the International System of Units, also called SI. SI uses prefixes to show very large or very small amounts. Each prefix tells you how many times you multiply or divide the base unit.

The word exagram is built from two parts:

  • exa, a prefix that means 1018 or a billion billion
  • gram, the basic metric unit of mass

The prefix exa was officially added to the SI system in the 1970s. It was created because scientists needed ways to talk clearly about extremely large measurements in fields like astronomy, physics, and Earth science.

Even though the name is official, the exagram is not commonly used in normal life because it describes masses that are far bigger than anything we usually handle.

Symbol & Abbreviation

The symbol for exagram is:

  • Eg

Here is how to understand the symbol:

  • E is the symbol for the exa prefix, which means 1018
  • g is the symbol for gram

So, when you see Eg, it means exagram. The E must be a capital letter, and the g must be lowercase. Writing it as eg would be wrong in SI rules.

In some English styles, you might see the word written as exagramme, but the symbol Eg is the same.

Current Use Around the World

Exagrams are official SI units, but they are very rarely used in normal life. You will not see exagrams on food labels, in shops, or in normal science classes.

They may appear in:

  • Astrophysics and astronomy, when talking about the mass of very large bodies or huge clouds of gas
  • Planetary science, for giant collections of rock, ice, or dust
  • Theoretical studies, when scientists want clean and simple numbers for extremely large masses

Even in science, smaller units such as kilograms, megagrams, or petagrams are much more common. The exagram mainly helps by giving a clear name for 1018 grams, so scientists can describe very large masses without writing many zeros.

Example Conversions

Here are some easy examples to help you imagine how large an exagram is.

Exagram to grams and kilograms

  • 1 Eg = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 g
  • 1 Eg = 1,000,000,000,000,000 kg
  • 0.001 Eg = 1015 g = 1012 kg

Exagram to metric tons

1 metric ton = 1,000 kg.

  • 1 Eg = 1015 kg = 1012 metric tons
  • 0.000001 Eg = 109 kg = 1,000,000 metric tons

Comparisons to everyday objects

These are rough ideas just to show how huge an exagram is.

  • A small car might weigh about 1,500 kg. You would need around 670,000,000,000,000 cars to reach 1 exagram.
  • A large ocean liner ship might weigh about 100,000 metric tons. You would need about 10,000,000 such ships to have 1 exagram of mass.

The exagram belongs to a family of metric mass units built from the gram. Here are some related units, from smaller to larger:

  • Gram (g) the base metric unit for mass
  • Kilogram (kg) 1,000 grams. The main everyday SI mass unit
  • Megagram (Mg) 1,000,000 grams. Also called a metric ton or tonne
  • Gigagram (Gg) 109 grams
  • Teragram (Tg) 1012 grams
  • Petagram (Pg) 1015 grams
  • Exagram (Eg) 1018 grams
  • Zettagram (Zg) 1021 grams
  • Yottagram (Yg) 1024 grams

Most everyday uses stop at kilograms and tonnes. The larger units like petagram and exagram are mostly used in high level science.

FAQs

How big is an exagram compared to a kilogram?

One exagram is much larger than a kilogram. One exagram equals 1,000,000,000,000,000 kilograms. So you would need a million billion kilograms to make one exagram.

Is exagram an official SI unit?

Yes. The exagram is an official derived SI unit of mass. It uses the exa prefix with the base unit gram. However, the standard base unit for mass in SI is the kilogram, not the gram, so you will usually see values given in kilograms, not in exagrams.

Where might scientists use exagrams?

Scientists might use exagrams when they talk about:

  • Very large groups of objects, like all the dust in a part of space
  • Giant ice sheets, rock layers, or other huge natural masses
  • Mathematical models where using very large units makes the numbers smaller and easier to read

Why do we not use exagrams in daily life?

We do not use exagrams in daily life because the unit is far too large for normal objects. Everyday items like people, cars, and buildings are many trillions of times smaller in mass than an exagram. Kilograms and grams are much more practical.

What is the spelling difference between exagram and exagramme?

Exagram is the common spelling in American English. Exagramme may be used in some older British texts. Both words mean the same unit, and both use the symbol Eg.

What is the difference between Eg and g?

g is the symbol for gram, the basic metric unit of mass. Eg is the symbol for exagram, which is 1018 grams. So 1 Eg = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 g.

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