The nanometre is a unit of length and is a multiple of the SI unit metre. It uses the symbol nm.
1 nm is equal to one one-billionth of a metre. (Nano is the prefix for one billionth). It is used to express dimensions on an atomic scale for example a helium atom has a radius of approximately 0.03nm.
The nanometre was previously known as the millimicrometre (or the millimicron).
The angstrom (or ångström) is a unit of length and is a non-SI but metric accepted unit with the symbol Å.
It is equal in length to one ten-billionth of a metre or 0.1 nanometres (0.1nm).
It is approximately the size of an atom and is mostly used to measure very small distances for example wavelengths of light.