The picometre is a unit of length and is a multiple of the SI unit metre. It uses the symbol pm.
It represents one trillionth of a metre, or one hundredth of an Ångström.
Because the picometre is so small, its use is restricted almost entirely to chemistry, quantum physics and particle physics. Atoms are typically 62 pm and 520 pm.
LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) is a probe planned for launch in 2034 to detect gravitational waves in space. Its measures these displacements with an accuracy of up to 20 pm over a distance of 2,500,000,000 m.
The metre (or meter; US spelling) is the SI base unit of length and uses the symbol m.
Originally defined in 1793 as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole but was redefined in 1799 in terms of a prototyped metre bar (this bar was changed again in 1889).
In 1983 the current definition was adopted and it is now the most common unit in any property in the world and is used in thousands of formulae to describe countless characteristics.
Let's hear it for the metre!