All things · The Machinery of Life
Ribosome: how big is it?
Ribosome is about 25 nm. In everyday terms, that is ≈ 236 hydrogen atoms.
- Size
- 25 nm
- In metres
- 2.50 × 10⁻⁸ m
- Everyday comparison
- ≈ 236 hydrogen atoms
- Chapter
- The Machinery of Life
Did you know?
The cell's protein factory. It reads genetic instructions and builds proteins one building block at a time.
How it compares
- About 2.1× bigger than Antibody (12 nm).
- About 3.6× smaller than Coronavirus (90 nm).
Other things of a similar size
- DNA (width) 2 nm
- Haemoglobin 5.5 nm
- Antibody 12 nm
- Coronavirus 90 nm
- Flu virus 120 nm
- Wavelength of green light 530 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.