How to convert nanometers to meters
- Take the value in nanometers.
- Use the formula meters = nanometers × 1e-9.
- For example, 1 nm is 1e-9 m.
About nanometers and meters
A nanometer is one billionth of a meter, 10⁻⁹ m. Multiply nanometers by 10⁻⁹ to get meters, which means moving the decimal point nine places left: 550 nm is 5.5 × 10⁻⁷ m, or 0.00000055 m.
Physics and chemistry formulas need SI units, so wavelengths in nm have to be turned into meters before they go into equations like c = fλ or E = hc/λ. Visible light runs from roughly 380 nm (violet) to 700 nm (red).
Examples
- 1 nm (one nanometer) is 1e-9 m
- 380 nm (the violet end of visible light) is 3.8e-7 m
- 550 nm (green light, near the eye’s peak sensitivity) is 5.5e-7 m
- 700 nm (the red end of visible light) is 7e-7 m
Nanometers to meters chart
| Nanometers (nm) | Meters (m) |
|---|---|
| 0.1 | 1e-10 |
| 1 | 1e-9 |
| 2 | 2e-9 |
| 5 | 5e-9 |
| 10 | 1e-8 |
| 50 | 5e-8 |
| 100 | 1e-7 |
| 200 | 2e-7 |
| 254 | 2.54e-7 |
| 380 | 3.8e-7 |
| 400 | 4e-7 |
| Nanometers (nm) | Meters (m) |
|---|---|
| 450 | 4.5e-7 |
| 500 | 5e-7 |
| 550 | 5.5e-7 |
| 600 | 6e-7 |
| 650 | 6.5e-7 |
| 700 | 7e-7 |
| 800 | 8e-7 |
| 1,000 | 0.000001 |
| 1,550 | 0.00000155 |
| 10,000 | 0.00001 |
| 1,000,000 | 0.001 |