Convert Square Inch (in²) to Barn (b (area)) instantly.
About these units
Square Inch (in²)
A square inch represents the area of a one-inch by one-inch square. It is indispensable in engineering, manufacturing, machine design, and consumer product specifications. Mechanical components, gasket areas, electronic device screens, and pipe cross-sections are often measured in square inches. Because imperial units are deeply rooted in American manufacturing, the square inch enables precise communication among engineers and technicians. The unit remains important in pressure measurement as well—psi (pounds per square inch) combines force and area into one of the most widely recognized engineering units worldwide.
Barn (b (area))
The barn is an area unit used almost exclusively in nuclear and particle physics, equal to 10⁻²⁸ square meters. Despite its incredibly tiny size, the barn emerged from humorous origins: early nuclear physicists joked that certain atomic nuclei were "as big as a barn" compared to the particles trying to hit them. The barn quantifies interaction cross-sections—essentially probabilities of particles colliding or interacting with nuclei. Because fundamental forces operate at extremely small scales, typical cross-section values lie in the microbarn, nanobarn, or picobarn range. The barn is essential for describing reaction rates in particle accelerators, nuclear reactors, and astrophysical processes such as stellar fusion.