angstroms
|ang-stroms|
/ˈæŋstrəmz/
(angstrom)
tiny length unit: 10^-10 m
Etymology
'angstrom' originates from Swedish, specifically the surname 'Ångström', named after physicist Anders Jonas Ångström.
'angstrom' was adopted in late 19th-century scientific literature (from 'Ångström'), and the English plural 'angstroms' developed by regular pluralization.
Initially, it denoted a unit used in spectroscopy to measure wavelengths of light; today it broadly denotes 10^-10 meters for atomic-scale distances.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
plural of 'angstrom'.
The interatomic distances are given in angstroms.
Noun 2
units of length equal to 10^-10 meters, used especially for wavelengths and atomic-scale distances.
X-ray wavelengths are typically a few angstroms.
Last updated: 2025/08/09 16:22