The picometre is one thousandfemtometres, one thousandth of ananometre (1/1000 nm), one millionth of amicrometre (also known as a micron), one billionth of amillimetre, and one trillionth of a metre.[2] The symbol μμ was once used for it.[3] It is also one hundredth of anångström, an internationally known (but non-SI) unit of length.
The picometre's length is of an order so small that its application is almost entirely confined toparticle physics,quantum physics, chemistry, andacoustics.Atoms are between 62 and 520 pm in diameter, and the typicallength of a carbon–carbonsingle bond is 154 pm. Smaller units still may be used to describe smaller particles (some of which are the components of atoms themselves), such ashadrons and the upper limits of possible size forfermion point particles.
TheLaser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) probe is planned for launch in 2034 to directly detectgravitational waves and will measure relative displacements with a resolution of 20 picometres over a distance of 2.5 gigametres, yielding a strain sensitivity of better than 1 part in 1020.
