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Millimetre - Unit of Measurement

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What is a Millimeter?

Wondering what is mm? A Metric measure of distance that is used for small lengths is called millimeters. A unit of length in the metric system equals to 1/1,000 of 1 meter. This means that there are 1000 mm in 1 meter. The abbreviation used to represent millimeters is mm. The small lines on this ruler display the metric measure mm. The ruler can measure up to 300 mm (the "40" indicates 40 centimeters which is equivalent to 300 millimeters).


What is Distance?

Distance is the measure of length. For instance, the distance of a road is how long the road is.

Under the metric system of measurement, the commonly used units of distance are millimeters (mm), centimeters (cm), meters (m), and kilometers (km).


How Large are Metric Units of Distance?

A paper clip is approximately 111 millimeter thick.

A fingernail is approximately 111 centimeter wide.

The length measurement of a guitar is about 111 meter.

A kilometer is equivalent to 100010001000 meters. It is a bit over half of a mile.

Below is the conversion of metric measures in tabular form:


Converting Bigger Units to Smaller Units 

Units

Conversion

1 centimeter

10 millimeters

1 meter

100 centimeters

1 meter

1,000 millimeters

1 kilometer

1,000 meters


In order to convert bigger units to smaller units we need to multiply the number of bigger units by the green conversion factor for the suitable smaller units.

Example: Converting meters to centimeters:

1 meter = 100 centimeters

13 meters = 13 × 100 = 1300 centimeters


Converting Smaller Units to Bigger Units

1 millimeter = 1/10 centimeter

1 centimeter = 1/100 centimeter

​1 meter = 1/1,000 kilometer

In order to convert smaller units to bigger units, we are required to divide the number of smaller units by the conversion factor for the appropriate bigger units.

Example: Converting meters to kilometers:

1 meter= 1/1000​ kilometer

6 meter= 6/1000​ kilometer = 0.006 km


Millimeter in Other Metric Units

The millimeter is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousandth (1/1000th) of a meter, which is the SI base unit of length. Thus, one millimeter is equal to one thousand millimeters in a metre. There are 10 millimeters in 1 centimeter.

One millimeter equals 1000 micrometres or 1000000 nanometres. Since an inch is officially described as exactly 25.4 millimetres, a millimetre is equivalent to exactly 0.03937 of an inch.


Converting Centimeter to Millimeter

In order to convert centimeter to millimeter, you can use a free online tool which will display the number of millimeters for the given centimeters. Vedantu’s online Centimeter to Millimeter converter makes the calculation faster, and it represents the conversion of units in a fraction of seconds.

For the conversion of the value of length cm to mm, multiply it with 10.

1 cm = 10 mm


How to Use The Centimeter to Millimeter Calculator?

The process to use the centimeter to millimeter converter is as follows:

Step 1: Enter the value of centimeters in the input field.

Step 2: Click the button “Solve” in order to obtain the result.

Step 3: Ultimately, the number of millimeters will be showcased in the output field.


What is Meant by the Conversion to Centimeter to Millimeter?

In the metric system, the centimeter (cm) is a unit of length which is equivalent to one-hundredth (1/100th) of a meter. One centimeter equals to 0.39370 inches.

In the metric system, the millimeter (mm) is a unit of length that is equal to one-thousandth (1/1000th) of a meter and is the SI base unit of length.

Therefore, 1 cm is equivalent to 10 mm. Thus, for converting the value from cm to mm, we would require to multiply the value by 10.


Solved Examples

Example:

Express 40 cm in mm.

Solution:

As you are familiar, 1 cm = 10 mm

Now,

40cm = (40 × 10) mm

= 400 mm

Thus, 40 centimeters is equal to 400 millimeters, i.e. 40 cm = 400 mm.

FAQs on Millimetre - Unit of Measurement

Q1. What is Meant by Conversion of Millimeters to Inches?

Answer: In Mathematics, both the metric units of millimeters and inches are used to measure the length. The millimeter is used in the international system of units known as the SI units, whereas the inches are described in the US customary system of measurements. The conversion from mm to inches and inches to mm is easy and becomes all the easier with the use of the online calculator. That being said, 1 millimeter is exactly equivalent to 0.03937007874 inches. Thus, for the purpose of converting millimeters to inches, we would multiply the millimeter value by the value 0.03937007874.

Therefore, 1mm = 0.03937007874 inches.


To convert mm ‌ into inches, you can also use the online mm to inches calculator tool available for free at Vedantu. The tool not only makes the calculation faster but displays the conversion in a fraction of seconds.

Q2. What is the Use of Millimeters in Measurement?

Answer: On a metric scale, the smallest measurements are usually the millimeters shortened as mm in written English and mili in spoken English. Superior-quality engineering rulers can qualify in increments of 0.5 mm. Digital calipers are commonly competent for reading increments as small as 0.01 mm.


Microwaves having a frequency of 300 GHz contain a wavelength of 1 mm. Incorporating wavelengths between 30 GHz and 300 GHz for data transmission, in contrast to the 300 MHz to 3 GHz generally used in mobile devices, has the competency of allowing data transfer rates of 10 gigabits per second.