pico-
5.9
A metric prefix meaning one trillionth of a unit
- other
- /ˈpiːkoʊ/
- Specialized
:
pico
- A single pico-meter is one trillionth of a meter, which is an incredibly small measurement.
This is an exquisite force sensor, you know, so thinking about, can you give people a concept of what a Pico Newton is?
- This is an exquisite force sensor, you know, so thinking about, can you give people a concept of what a Pico Newton is?
Examples
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In electronics, a pico-farad is a unit of capacitance equal to one trillionth of a farad.
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This is an exquisite force sensor, you know, so thinking about, can you give people a concept of what a Pico Newton is?
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When discussing the size of atoms, scientists often use the pico- scale to express distances.
How Small
Surface Forms
pico- main
Etymology
Pico- was chosen for the metric system from Spanish and Italian words for 'a very small bit', similar to Italian piccolo ('small'). That's why pico- means 'one trillionth' (10^-12) and a pico-second is 'one trillionth' of a second, marking very tiny amounts.