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To convert from US Survey Foot (ft-us) to Nanometer (nm), use the following formula:
With is the ratio between the base units Meter (m) and Foot (ft).
Let's convert 5 US Survey Foot (ft-us) to Nanometer (nm).
Using the formula:
Therefore, 5 US Survey Foot (ft-us) is equal to Nanometer (nm).
Here are some quick reference conversions from US Survey Foot (ft-us) to Nanometer (nm):
| US Survey Feet | Nanometers |
|---|---|
| 0.000001 ft-us | nm |
| 0.001 ft-us | nm |
| 0.1 ft-us | nm |
| 1 ft-us | nm |
| 2 ft-us | nm |
| 3 ft-us | nm |
| 4 ft-us | nm |
| 5 ft-us | nm |
| 6 ft-us | nm |
| 7 ft-us | nm |
| 8 ft-us | nm |
| 9 ft-us | nm |
| 10 ft-us | nm |
| 20 ft-us | nm |
| 30 ft-us | nm |
| 40 ft-us | nm |
| 50 ft-us | nm |
| 100 ft-us | nm |
| 1000 ft-us | nm |
| 10000 ft-us | nm |
For all Length converters, choose units using the From/To dropdowns above.
The US Survey Foot is a unit of length historically used for land surveying in the United States.
It is very close in length to the international foot, equaling approximately 1.000002 international feet (ft). The plural form is US Survey Feet.
The origin of the US Survey Foot dates back to the Mendenhall Order of 1893. This order defined the relationship between the meter and US customary units.
It established that 1 meter is precisely equal to 39.37 inches. From this relationship, the US Survey Foot was derived, defined as 1200/3937 meters.
This definition differs slightly from the international foot, which was established in 1959 and is defined as exactly 0.3048 meters.
To simplify measurements and prevent confusion, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) made a critical change.
They officially retired the U.S. Survey Foot on December 31, 2022.
Surveying and mapping applications in the United States will now use the international foot. This critical change helps unify the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) and prevents costly errors in large-scale projects.
While the difference between a US Survey Foot and an international foot is minuscule—only about two parts per million—it becomes significant over large distances.
For every mile, the discrepancy adds up to approximately 1/8 inch.
This minor error may not be significant for a backyard fence. However, for massive construction projects and infrastructure development, such as bridges that cross state lines, the accumulated error can lead to severe misalignments and costly mistakes.
A nanometer (nm) is a tiny unit of measurement in the metric system.
To give you an idea of its scale, one nanometer is equal to one-billionth of a meter (10-9 m). The plural form is nanometers.
A nanometer is so small that it's challenging to visualize. To put it in perspective:
A single strand of human hair is enormous in comparison, measuring approximately 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers in diameter.
Similarly, a standard sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick.
This comparison highlights the incredible nanometer scale at which modern science operates.
The nanometer is central to nanotechnology, which works with matter at the atomic and molecular scale.
Modern electronics are a good example: transistors on computer chips are measured in nanometers.
A smaller process node (for example, a 5 nm chip) enables manufacturers to pack more transistors into the same area, resulting in faster and more energy-efficient devices, such as smartphones and laptops.
The prefix "nano" originates from the ancient Greek word "νάνος" (nános), which means "dwarf."
This origin perfectly captures the essence of the nanometer's tiny size. It's a fitting name for a unit used to measure things far too small for the human eye to see.