All things · The Machinery of Life
DNA (width): how big is it?
DNA (width) is about 2 nm. In everyday terms, that is ≈ 18.9 hydrogen atoms.
- Size
- 2 nm
- In metres
- 2.00 × 10⁻⁹ m
- Everyday comparison
- ≈ 18.9 hydrogen atoms
- Chapter
- The Machinery of Life
Did you know?
Your DNA is only this wide, yet uncoiled from just one cell it would stretch about 2 metres.
How it compares
- About 2.2× bigger than Glucose molecule (900 pm).
- About 2.7× smaller than Haemoglobin (5.5 nm).
Other things of a similar size
- Water molecule 275 pm
- Gold atom 288 pm
- Glucose molecule 900 pm
- Haemoglobin 5.5 nm
- Antibody 12 nm
- Ribosome 25 nm
Sizes are rounded, typical values drawn from standard reference sources, including NIST/CODATA physical constants and NASA's planetary fact sheets. Real objects vary; see About for how sizes are chosen.