Femtometre Femtometre

Femtometre - Definition and Overview

Femtometre (American spelling: femtometer) is an SI measure of length that is equal to 10−15 (femto) of a metre.  Its symbol is fm and is commonly used in measuring the diameter of atomic nuclei.  The diameter of an atomic nucleus is up to about 15 fm.  Neutrons and protons are about 2.5 fm in diameter.  In the parlance of particle physicists, a femtometre is often called a fermi (same symbol), after the physicist Enrico Fermi.

1 fm = 1 × 10−15 metre
1000 fm = 1 picometre

attometre << femtometre << picometre

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