A femtometer (fm), also known as a fermi, is an extremely tiny unit of measurement used to express even smaller distances than a picometer. It is equal to one quadrillionth of a meter, which is 0.000000000000001 meters or 1 × 10^-15 meters. The prefix "femto" denotes a factor of 10^-15 in the International System of Units (SI).
Femtometers are typically used in the field of nuclear physics and particle physics to describe the sizes and distances involved in atomic nuclei and subatomic particles. The nucleus of an atom, for example, is on the order of a few femtometers in diameter. In high-energy physics experiments and discussions about fundamental particles like protons, neutrons, and quarks, femtometers are a relevant unit of measurement due to the incredibly small scales involved.
An attometer (am) is an even smaller unit of measurement used to express incredibly tiny distances. It is equal to one quintillionth of a meter, which is 0.000000000000000001 meters or 1 × 10^-18 meters. The prefix "atto" denotes a factor of 10^-18 in the International System of Units (SI).
Attometers are used in the most specialized and precise scientific research, particularly in the field of particle physics and in discussions about fundamental particles. These distances are relevant when studying the properties and interactions of subatomic particles, such as quarks and neutrinos, which have dimensions on the scale of attometers.
To put it into perspective, the size of an attometer is approximately a billion times smaller than the diameter of a hydrogen atom, which is already on the order of picometers. Attometers are among the smallest scales of measurement used in scientific research and are essential for understanding the behavior of matter at the most fundamental level.