10 nanometres

Comparison of sizes of semiconductor manufacturing process nodes with some microscopic objects and visible light wavelengths. At this scale, the width of a human hair is about 10 times that of the image.^[1]

To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 10⁻⁸ and 10⁻⁷ metres (10 nanometres and 100 nanometres).

Distances shorter than 10 nanometres

• 10 nm = 10 nanometres = 10⁻⁸ metres
• 10 nm – lower size of tobacco smoke^[2]
• 10 nm – shortest Extreme Ultraviolet wavelength or longest X-ray wavelength^[3]
• 11 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell speculated to be manufactured in 2015.
• 16 nm – technology was reached by semiconductor companies in 2014
• 18 nm – diameter of tobacco mosaic virus^[4] (Generally, viruses range in size from 20 nm to 450 nm.)
• 20 nm – width of bacterial flagellum^[5]
• 20 nm to 80 nm — thickness of cell wall in Gram-positive bacteria^[6]
• 22 nm – smallest feature size of production microprocessors in September 2009^[7]
• 22 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell expected to be manufactured at around the 2011–2011 time frame.
• 30 nm — lower size of cooking oil smoke^[2]
• 32 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured at around the 2009–2010 time frame.
• 45 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured at around the 2007–2008 time frame.
• 50 nm – upper size for airborne virus particles^[2]
• 50 nm – flying height of the head of a hard disk^[8]
• 65 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured at around the 2005–2006 time frame.
• 90 nm – the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured at around the 2002–2003 time frame.
• 100 nm – larger than 90% of the particles of wood smoke (ranges from 7 to 3000 nanometres)^[2]

Distances longer than 100 nanometres

Notes

1. Graham T. Smith (2002). Industrial metrology. Springer. p. 253. ISBN 978-1-85233-507-6.
2. Annis, Patty J. October 1991. Kansas State University. Fine Particle POLLUTION. Figure 1. (tobacco smoke: 10 to 1000 nm; virus particles: 3 to 50 nm; bacteria: 30 to 30000 nm; cooking oil smoke: 30 to 30000 nm; wood smoke: 7 to 3000 nm)
3. Introduction to the Electromagnetic Spectrum and Spectroscopy
4. Stryer, Lubert (1988). Biochemistry. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. ISBN 0-7167-1843-X.
5. Kojima S, Blair D (2004). "The bacterial flagellar motor: structure and function of a complex molecular machine". Int Rev Cytol. International Review of Cytology 233: 93–134. doi:10.1016/S0074-7696(04)33003-2. ISBN 978-0-12-364637-8. PMID 15037363.
6. Microbiology Text.com
7. http://www.physorg.com/news172852816.html accessed 2009.09.21
8. help with PCs web site