A square nanometer (often abbreviated as nm²) is a unit of area in the International System of Units (SI) and is used to describe extremely small areas, especially in the context of nanotechnology and scientific research.
One square nanometer is equal to one billionth of a square meter (1 x 10^-9 m²). In other words, it takes one billion square nanometers to make up one square meter.
To give you a sense of scale, a square nanometer is incredibly tiny. It's often used to describe the size of individual atoms, molecules, or the features on nanoscale devices. Nanotechnology deals with structures and materials on this extremely small scale, where traditional units of area, like square meters or even square millimeters, are impractical.
An "are" (symbol: a) is a unit of area that is not part of the International System of Units (SI) but is used in some countries, particularly in Europe, for measuring land areas. One are is equal to 100 square meters (m²).
To put it simply, 1 are is equivalent to a square with sides that each measure 10 meters. It is a relatively convenient unit for measuring smaller land areas, such as gardens, small fields, or land plots, where using square meters might result in large numbers.
Here are some additional conversions to provide context:
For example, if you have a piece of land that is 5 ares in size, it would be equivalent to 500 square meters (5 ares * 100 m²/are = 500 m²).