1 E2 m
Encyclopedia
Metre
The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology...
s and 1000 metres (1 kilometre
Kilometre
The kilometre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres and is therefore exactly equal to the distance travelled by light in free space in of a second...
).
Distances shorter than 100 metres
Conversions
100 metres (sometimes termed a hectometreHectometre
A hectometre is a somewhat uncommonly used unit of length in the metric system, equal to one hundred metres. It derives from the Greek word "ekato", meaning "hundred". A regulation football or soccer field is approximately 1 hectometre in length.*For area the square hectometre is a common unit...
) is equal to:
- 328 feet
- one side of a 1 hectare square
- a fifth of a modern li, a ChineseChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
unit of measurement - the approximate distance travelled by light in 300 nanosecondNanosecondA nanosecond is one billionth of a second . One nanosecond is to one second as one second is to 31.7 years.The word nanosecond is formed by the prefix nano and the unit second. Its symbol is ns....
s.
Human-defined scales and structures
- 100 metres — wavelengthWavelengthIn physics, the wavelength of a sinusoidal wave is the spatial period of the wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.It is usually determined by considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as crests, troughs, or zero crossings, and is a...
of the highest mediumwaveMediumwaveMedium wave is the part of the medium frequency radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. For Europe the MW band ranges from 526.5 kHz to 1606.5 kHz...
radio frequency, 3 MHz - 100 metres — Spacing of location marker postsDriver location signsDriver location signs are English highway route markers, first introduced in 2003, that complement distance marker posts. Both types of marker post display the distances from a nominal start point in kilometres...
on British motorways. - 138.8 metres — height of the Great Pyramid of GizaGreat Pyramid of GizaThe Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact...
(Pyramid of Cheops) - 139 metres — height of the world's tallest roller coaster, Kingda KaKingda KaKingda Ka is a roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, USA. It is the world's tallest roller coaster, and was the world's fastest until Formula Rossa opened in November 2010. The train is launched by a hydraulic launch mechanism to in 3.5 seconds. At the end of...
- 187 metres— shortest wavelength of the broadcast radioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
AM band, 1600 kHz - 202 metres — length of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge connecting BudaBudaFor detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
and PestPest (city)Pest is the eastern, mostly flat part of Budapest, Hungary, comprising about two thirds of the city's territory. It is divided from Buda, the other part of Budapest, by the Danube River. Among its most notable parts are the Inner City, including the Hungarian Parliament, Heroes' Square and... - 244 metres — height of the City GateCity GateMoshe Aviv Tower , is a skyscraper located in the demarcated area of the bursa on Jabotinsky Road in northern Ramat Gan, Israel. It is commonly known as City Gate , its original name. It is the tallest building in Israel....
building in Ramat-Gan, IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... - 320.75 metres — height of the Eiffel TowerEiffel TowerThe Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
(including antenna) - 328 metres — height of AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
's Sky TowerSky TowerThe Sky Tower is an observation and telecommunications tower located on the corner of Victoria and Federal Streets in the Auckland CBD, Auckland City, New Zealand. It is tall, as measured from ground level to the top of the mast, making it the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern...
, the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern HemisphereSouthern HemisphereThe Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"... - 340 metres — distance soundSoundSound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
travels in air in one second; see speed of soundSpeed of soundThe speed of sound is the distance travelled during a unit of time by a sound wave propagating through an elastic medium. In dry air at , the speed of sound is . This is , or about one kilometer in three seconds or approximately one mile in five seconds.... - 341 metres — height of the world's tallest bridge, the Millau ViaductMillau ViaductThe Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed road-bridge that spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France. Designed by the British architect Norman Foster and French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux, it is the tallest bridge in the world, with one mast's summit at . It is the...
- 390 metres — height of the Empire State BuildingEmpire State BuildingThe Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
- 400–500 metres — approximate heights of the world's tallest skyscrapers of the past 70 years.
- 443 metres — height of the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), the tallest skyscraperSkyscraperA skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... - 458 metres — length of the Knock NevisKnock NevisSeawise Giant, later Happy Giant, Jahre Viking, and Knock Nevis, was a ULCC supertanker and the longest ship ever built, and possessed the greatest deadweight tonnage ever recorded...
, the world's largest supertanker - 509 metres — height of the Taipei 101Taipei 101Taipei 101 , formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building ranked officially as the world's tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010...
building, the tallest skyscraperSkyscraperA skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in the world - 553 metres — height of the CN TowerCN TowerThe CN Tower is a communications and observation tower in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Standing tall, it was completed in 1976, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure and world's tallest tower at the time. It held both records for 34 years until the completion of the Burj...
, the tallest tower and freestanding structure in the world - 541 metres (1776 ft) — height of the planned Freedom TowerFreedom TowerOne World Trade Center , more simply known as 1 WTC and formerly known as the Freedom Tower, is the lead building of the new World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan in New York City...
at the World Trade Center siteWorld Trade Center siteThe World Trade Center site , also known as "Ground Zero" after the September 11 attacks, sits on in Lower Manhattan in New York City... - 555 metres — longest wavelength of the broadcast radioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
AM band, 540 kHz - 630 metres — height of the KVLY-TV mastKVLY-TV mastThe KVLY-TV mast is a tall television-transmitting mast in Blanchard, Traill County, North Dakota, United States, used by Fargo station KVLY-TV channel 11...
, second tallest structure in the world - 828 metres — height of Burj Khalifa, world's tallest structure on 17 January 2009
- 1000 metres — wavelength of the lowest mediumwaveMediumwaveMedium wave is the part of the medium frequency radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. For Europe the MW band ranges from 526.5 kHz to 1606.5 kHz...
radio frequency, 300 kHz
Sports
- 100 metres — the distance a very fast human being can run in about 10 seconds
- 100.584 metres — length of a Canadian footballCanadian footballCanadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
field between the goal lines (110 yardYardA yard is a unit of length in several different systems including English units, Imperial units and United States customary units. It is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches...
s) - 105 metres — length of a typical football field
- 109.73 metres — total length of an American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
field (120 yards, including the end zones) - 110 – 150 metres the width of an Australian football field
- 135 – 185 metres the length of an Australian football field
- 137.16 metres — total length of a Canadian footballCanadian footballCanadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
field, including the end zones (150 yards)
Nature
- 310 metres — maximum depth of Lake GenevaLake GenevaLake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
- 340 metres — distance soundSoundSound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
travels in air at sea level in one second; see speed of soundSpeed of soundThe speed of sound is the distance travelled during a unit of time by a sound wave propagating through an elastic medium. In dry air at , the speed of sound is . This is , or about one kilometer in three seconds or approximately one mile in five seconds.... - 979 metres — height of the Salto Angel, the world's highest free-falling waterfall (VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
)
Astronomical
- 270 metres — length of 99942 Apophis99942 Apophis99942 Apophis is a near-Earth asteroid that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 because initial observations indicated a small probability that it would strike the Earth in 2029. Additional observations provided improved predictions that eliminated the possibility of an impact on...
, the smallest known asteroid - 540 metres — length of 25143 Itokawa25143 Itokawa25143 Itokawa is an Apollo and Mars-crosser asteroid. It was the first asteroid to be the target of a sample return mission, the Japanese space probe Hayabusa.-Discovery and naming:...
,
Distances longer than 1 kilometre
See also
- hectometreHectometreA hectometre is a somewhat uncommonly used unit of length in the metric system, equal to one hundred metres. It derives from the Greek word "ekato", meaning "hundred". A regulation football or soccer field is approximately 1 hectometre in length.*For area the square hectometre is a common unit...