Nano (symbol n) is a unit prefix meaning one billionth. Used primarily with the metric system, this prefix denotes a factor of 10−9 or 0.000000001. It is frequently encountered in science and electronics for prefixing units of time and length.
- Examples
- Three gold atoms lined up are about one nanometer (nm) long.
- If a toy marble were scaled down to one nanometer wide, Earth would scale to about 1 meter (3.3 ft) wide.
- One nanosecond (ns) is about the time required for light to travel 30 cm in air, or 20 cm in an optical fiber.
- One nanometer per second (nm/s) is approximately the speed that a fingernail grows.
The prefix derives from the Greek νᾶνος (Latin nanus), meaning "dwarf". The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) officially endorsed the usage of nano as a standard prefix in 1960.
When used as a prefix for something other than a unit of measure (as for example in words like "nanoscience"), nano refers to nanotechnology, or means "on a scale of nanometres" (nanoscale).
Nanometre
X-rays have a wavelength ranging from the size of 0.01 nm to 10 nm.
Human fingernails grow at approximately one nanometer per second.
Nanosecond
See also
- RKM code
References
