The head of a pin is about 2mm in diameter. Use this animation to compare the relative sizes of cells and organisms. Nearly invisible without magnification, dust mites dwarf pollen grains and human cells. In turn, bacteria and viruses are even smaller.

How to use:

• Use the left and right arrows to change magnification.
• Click on the magnifications (1, 10, 100...) for a "Power of Ten" zoom.
• Choose an individual cell or organism (right) to bring it into view.
• Use the scale to measure individual cells.

 

1 millimeter = 0.001 meter
1 micron = 0.000001 meter
1 nanometer = 0.000000001 meter

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Keywords... metric system micron angstrom virus bacteria

Biology Department

© Copyright 2004 Department of Biology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC 28035
Send comments, questions, and suggestions to: macampbell@davidson.edu