In physics, particularly in the field of nuclear and particle physics, a "barn" is a unit of area used to describe the likelihood of nuclear reactions or scattering events. The name "barn" comes from the idea that it's a very large target area, as if hitting the broad side of a barn were an easy task.
The barn is not part of the International System of Units (SI), but it's a widely recognized unit in nuclear physics. One barn is equal to 1 square femtometer (fm²), which is an incredibly small area. Specifically:
1 barn (b) = 1 square femtometer (fm²) = 10^(-28) square meters (m²)
To put it in perspective, a barn is used to describe the effective target area for nuclear reactions. Nuclear cross-sections, which describe the likelihood of nuclear interactions occurring, are often measured in barns. It's a unit that allows scientists to quantify the probability of certain atomic and subatomic processes taking place.
A square hectometer (often abbreviated as hm²) is a unit of area in the International System of Units (SI). It represents a square with sides that each measure 100 meters (10,000 centimeters) in length.
One square hectometer is equal to 10,000 square meters (m²) because each side of the square is 100 meters long, and when you square that length, you get 10,000 square meters.
To put it in perspective, a square hectometer is equivalent to 0.01 square kilometers (km²) because 1 square kilometer is equal to 100 hectares.
Square hectometers are not as commonly used as some other units of area, but they can be helpful for measuring large land areas, especially in some scientific and land management contexts.