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
First metallic nanoparticles resistant to extreme heat
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Nov 30, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
0
A University of Pittsburgh team overcame a major hurdle plaguing the development of nanomaterials such as those that could lead to more efficient catalysts used to produce hydrogen and render car exhaust less toxic. The researchers ...
Small optical force can budge nanoscale objects
Nov 17, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (13) |
0
(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.
Findings show nanomedicine promising for treating spinal cord injuries
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 08, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
0
(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 ...
OLED Tunes its Colors for Sunlight-Style Illumination
Jul 16, 2009 |
5 / 5 (39) |
15
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have developed a lighting device that can change its color temperature throughout the day, matching the natural daylight chromaticities produced by the sun. Currently, no other ...
Pinning Down Superconductivity to a Single Layer
Oct 29, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (16) |
28
(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 ...
Engineering Carbon for Impressive Hydrogen Storage
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
May 22, 2009 |
4 / 5 (16) |
14
(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Missouri researchers recently showed how carbon nanostructures can be engineered to become excellent media for hydrogen storage, work that may be important for the advancement of hydrogen-energy ...
'Writing' Patterns on Carbon Nanotubes With Polymer Chains
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
May 19, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (11) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- Carbon nanotubes are at the center of the nanoelectronics research movement, with scientists making great progress toward getting nanotube-based electronic devices into the hands of consumers. ...
New nanocrystalline diamond probes overcome wear
Nov 10, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (3) |
0
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, ...
Nanotechnology: A risky frontier?
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Nov 05, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (5) |
0
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 ...
LEGO toy helps researchers learn what happens on nanoscale
Aug 25, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (10) |
0
Johns Hopkins engineers are using a popular children's toy to visualize the behavior of particles, cells and molecules in environments too small to see with the naked eye. These researchers are arranging little ...
Salt block unexpectedly stretches in new experiments
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Jun 24, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
4
To stretch a supply of salt generally means using it sparingly.
New nanolaser -- spaser -- key to future optical computers and technologies
Aug 16, 2009 |
5 / 5 (23) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Because the new device, called a "spaser," is the first of its kind to emit visible light, it represents a critical component for possible future technologies based on "nanophotonic" circuitry, ...
Effects of 'strong coupling' observed for the first time between light and a micromechanical object
Aug 06, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (17) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) in Vienna and Innsbruck, Austria, have created an interaction between light and a micromechanical resonator that ...
Researchers create nanoparticle coating to prevent freezing rain buildup (w/ Video)
Oct 29, 2009 |
3 / 5 (2) |
1
(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) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new alternative energy technology relies on the element most associated with climate change: carbon.
