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Symbol | Definition |
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≡ | exactly equal |
≈ | approximately equal to |
= | equal to |
digits | indicates that digits repeat infinitely (e.g. 8.294 369 corresponds to 8.294 369 369 369 369 …) |
The femtometre (American spelling femtometer, symbol fm derived from the Danish and Norwegian word femten, "fifteen"+Ancient Greek: μέτρον, metrοn, "unit of measurement") is an SI unit of length equal to 10−15 metres, which means a quadrillionth of one. This distance can also be called a fermi and was so named in honour of physicist Enrico Fermi, as it is a typical length-scale of nuclear physics.
The light-year is a unit of length used to express astronomical distances. It is about 9.5 quadrillion metres or 5.9 trillion miles. As defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a light-year is the distance that light travels in vacuum in one Julian year (365.25 days). Because it includes the word "year", the term light-year is sometimes misinterpreted as a unit of time.