Nanometre
hideA nanometre (American spelling: nanometer; symbol nm) (Greek: νάνος, nanos, "dwarf"; μέτρον, metrοn, "unit of measurement") is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one billionth of a metre (i.e., 10-9 m or one millionth of a millimetre).
It is one of the more often used units for very small lengths, and equals ten Ångström, an internationally recognized non-SI unit of length. It is often associated with the field of nanotechnology and the wavelength of light. Formerly, millimicron (symbol mµ) was used for the nanometre. The symbol µµ has also been used .
It is also the most common unit used to describe the manufacturing technology used in the semiconductor industry. It is the most common unit to describe the wavelength of light, with visible light falling in the region of 400–700 nm. The data in compact discs is stored as indentations (known as pits) that are approximately 100 nm deep by 500 nm wide. Reading an optical disk requires a laser with a wavelength 4 times the pit depth -- a CD requires a 780 nm wavelength (near infrared) laser, while the shallower pits of a DVD requires a shorter 650 nm wavelength (red) laser, and the even shallower pits of a Blu-ray Disc require a shorter 405 nm wavelength (blue) laser.
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News tagged with nanometers
Small optical force can budge nanoscale objects
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Engineering researchers have used a very tiny beam of light with as little as 1 milliwatt of power to move a silicon structure up to 12 nanometers.
New nanocrystalline diamond probes overcome wear
Nov 10, 2009 |
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Researchers at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University have developed, characterized, and modeled a new kind of probe used in atomic force microscopy (AFM), which images, measures, ...
Findings show nanomedicine promising for treating spinal cord injuries
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a new approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres that could be injected into the blood shortly ...
Nanotechnology: A risky frontier?
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Nov 05, 2009 |
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Inside a cramped back room at Rushford Hypersonic, a start-up headquartered in southeastern Minnesota, sits a cube-like machine that throws a mean atomic fastball. At the push of a button, the reactor hurls atoms toward a ...
Pinning Down Superconductivity to a Single Layer
Oct 29, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (16) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Using precision techniques for making superconducting thin films layer-by-layer, physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified a single layer ...
Researchers create nanoparticle coating to prevent freezing rain buildup (w/ Video)
Oct 29, 2009 |
3 / 5 (2) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Preventing the havoc wrought when freezing rain collects on roads, power lines, and aircrafts could be only a few nanometers away. A University of Pittsburgh-led team demonstrates in the Nov. 3 edition of ...
Carbon nanotubes may cheaply harvest sunlight
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 19, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new alternative energy technology relies on the element most associated with climate change: carbon.
Nanosatellites expected to benefit from advanced propulsion technology
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 19, 2009 |
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A University of Michigan professor is developing an electric rocket thruster, NanoFET, that uses nanoparticle electric propulsion and enables spacecraft to travel faster and with less propellant than previous ...
Tiny technology may yield major finds -- and possible perils
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Oct 13, 2009 |
5 / 5 (7) |
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Imagine a particle so small it would take a million of them to stretch across the period at the end of this sentence. Imagine such particles could help catch cancer cells floating in your bloodstream before they could metastasize ...
EPA announces research strategy to study nanomaterials
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Sep 29, 2009 |
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today outlined a new research strategy to better understand how manufactured nanomaterials may harm human health and the environment. Nanomaterials are materials that are between approximately ...
DNA origami
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Sep 16, 2009 |
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Researchers from Brigham Young University found how to shape customized segments of DNA into tiny letters that spell "BYU." This new method of DNA origami will appear in the aptly titled journal Nano Letters.
Nanoparticle treatment for burns curbs infection, reduces inflammation
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Sep 14, 2009 |
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Treating second-degree burns with a nanoemulsion lotion sharply curbs bacterial growth and reduces inflammation that otherwise can jeopardize recovery, University of Michigan scientists have shown in initial laboratory studies.
High-Res View of Zinc Transport Protein
Sep 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- How much difference can a tenth of a nanometer make? When it comes to figuring out how proteins work, an improvement in resolution of that miniscule amount can mean the difference between seeing where atoms ...
Electrical circuit runs entirely off power in trees
Sep 08, 2009 |
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You've heard about flower power. What about tree power? It turns out that it's there, in small but measurable quantities. There's enough power in trees for University of Washington researchers to run an electronic ...
Calif. region is epicenter of U.S. nano-revolution
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Aug 27, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
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The San Francisco Bay Area has become the nation's hot spot for a microscopic technology that's already being used for everything from keeping drill bits sharp to extending the usable life of cooking oil, and that one day ...
