Picometer

The picometer is an SI unit of length equal to one billionth (0.000 000 000 001 or 1×10⁻¹²) part of a meter. It is abbreviated pm.

1 pm = 1×10⁻¹²m.

It is used to measure distances on the atomic scale, although it is more common to use the angstrom (Å). The atomic diameters are between 50 pm to 600 pm.

Other equivalencies

• 1 nm = 1000 pm
• 1 Å = 100 pm
• 1 pm = 1000 fm

Examples

Among the lengths of the order of magnitude of a picometer we can mention:

• The Compton wavelength of the electron: 2.4 pm (2.4 × 10⁻¹²(m)
• The approximate wavelength of the X-rays of greater energy: 5 pm (5 × 10⁻¹²(m)
• The distance between hydrogen and oxygen atoms in a water molecule: 95.84 pm (9,584 × 10⁻¹¹(m)