How this calculator works
Nano means 10^-9. A nanometre is therefore one billionth of a metre and one millionth of a millimetre. This page keeps the quantity as length: using a wavelength to find photon energy or frequency requires an additional physical relationship.
Formula
mm = nm / 1000000; nm = mm x 1000000; um = nm / 1000; angstroms = nm x 10.
Worked example
A 550 nm wavelength spans 0.00055 mm or 0.55 um. A 0.002 mm feature is 2000 nm.
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Frequently asked questions
Does nm mean nautical mile?
Here nm means nanometre. Nautical miles use nmi in the other-unit list.
Why are some results shown in scientific notation?
Very small lengths need exponent notation to avoid displaying a non-zero dimension as zero.
Can this give the colour of a wavelength?
It converts length units. Perceived colour depends on more than a single unit conversion.