Convert Inch (US Survey) (in (US)) to Femtometer (fm) instantly.
About these units
Inch (US Survey) (in (US))
The US Survey Inch is derived from the US survey foot, making it exactly 1/12 of the US survey foot (~2.540006 cm). It is used in precise surveying applications where small differences can accumulate over large distances. Historically, it ensured consistency in cadastral maps, railroad engineering, and construction projects, especially when reconciling legacy measurements with modern geodetic data. Though seldom used outside surveying, the US survey inch highlights the need for consistency and precision in civil engineering and mapping applications.
Femtometer (fm)
A femtometer, equal to 10⁻¹⁵ meters, is the scale at which the structure of atomic nuclei becomes measurable. Also known historically as a "fermi," this unit is used extensively in nuclear physics to describe the radii of protons, neutrons, and nuclei, which typically span 1–10 femtometers. At this scale, the strong nuclear force dominates interactions, and classical intuition breaks down almost entirely—quantum mechanics provides the only meaningful framework. The femtometer also plays a role in high-energy particle experiments, where the wavelengths of probing particles (like high-velocity electrons) may be expressed in femtometer increments. These small wavelengths allow researchers to resolve sub-nuclear structures. While invisible to any optical instrument, distances in the femtometer range can be inferred through scattering experiments, such as those performed in particle accelerators.