Quick Facts
- Also called:
- micron
- Related Topics:
- International System of Units
- length
- unit
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micrometre
unit of measurement
Also known as: Ī¼m, micron
micrometre, metric unit of measure for length equal to 0.001 mm, or about 0.000039 inch. Its symbol is Ī¼m. The micrometre is commonly employed to measure the thickness or diameter of microscopic objects, such as microorganisms and colloidal particles. Minute distancesāfor example, the wavelengths of infrared radiationāare also given in micrometres.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen.
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