All things · The Edge of Sight

Mustard seed: how big is it?

Mustard seed is about 1.5 mm. In everyday terms, that is ≈ 21.4 human hairs (width).

Size

1.5 mm

In metres

1.50 × 10⁻³ m

Everyday comparison

≈ 21.4 human hairs (width)

Chapter

The Edge of Sight

Did you know?

A staple of Indian tadka. Each seed is only about 1 to 2 mm across.

How it compares

• About 2.5× bigger than Grain of sand (600 µm).
• About 1.7× smaller than Flea (2.5 mm).

Other things of a similar size

• Dust mite 250 µm
• Tardigrade 450 µm
• Grain of sand 600 µm
• Flea 2.5 mm
• Ant 5 mm
• Grain of rice 7 mm

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.