Convert Petagram (Pg) to Atomic Mass Unit (u) instantly.
About these units
Petagram (Pg)
A petagram, equal to 10¹² kilograms, is used almost exclusively in global environmental science and earth system modeling. Planetary-scale carbon budgets—for example, the total carbon stored in Earth's soils or forests—are expressed in petagrams. The Amazon rainforest alone holds on the order of 100 Pg of carbon. Using petagrams helps researchers track changes in Earth's climate balance and evaluate feedback loops in the carbon cycle.
Atomic Mass Unit (u)
The atomic mass unit (u) is defined as exactly 1/12 the mass of a neutral carbon-12 atom, which makes it approximately 1.66053906660 × 10⁻²⁷ kilograms. This definition allows scientists to express atomic and molecular masses in a convenient, intuitive scale that aligns with the structure of the periodic table. By anchoring the unit to carbon-12, chemists and physicists gained a universal reference point that harmonizes molecular weight, relative isotopic abundance, and mass spectroscopy results. The atomic mass unit effectively normalizes the complexity of atomic masses into whole-number or near-whole-number values for most nuclei. In chemistry, u is indispensable for calculating molar masses, reaction stoichiometry, and isotopic compositions. It is also used across nuclear physics, astrophysics, and biophysics, demonstrating the universality of atomic-scale measurement.