Convert Cubic Decimeter (dm³) to Femtoliter (fL) instantly.
About these units
Cubic Decimeter (dm³)
A cubic decimeter is defined as 1 liter, since it is the volume of a cube 10 centimeters per side. Though equivalent to the liter, dm³ is often used in engineering and physics because it fits neatly into the SI geometric framework. This unit is convenient when working with densities (kg/dm³), where the equivalence of 1 dm³ and 1 L simplifies many calculations involving fluids and materials. While the liter dominates everyday usage, the cubic decimeter is favored in technical contexts where a strong geometric interpretation is needed—for example, in tank sizing, volumetric flow calculations, or experiments involving water displacement.
Femtoliter (fL)
A femtoliter represents 10⁻¹⁵ liters and is commonly used in hematology, particularly in describing red blood cell size. A typical red blood cell has a volume of roughly 80–100 fL, making this unit ideal for medical diagnostics. Beyond medicine, femtoliters are used in microfluidics and nanoparticle research, where reaction chambers or droplets often hold only a few dozen femtoliters of liquid. The femtoliter exemplifies how modern science pushes measurement into realms dominated by statistical motion, molecular interactions, and quantum effects—scales that once seemed impossible to quantify.