View source for Centimetre



{{Unit of length|m=0.01|accuracy=4<!--number of significant figures-->}}
[[Image:CarpentersRule.png|thumb|A carpenters' ruler with centimetre divisions]]
A '''centimetre''' ([[American English|American spelling]]: '''centimeter''', symbol '''cm''') is a [[Units of measurement|unit]] of [[length]] in the [[metric system]], equal to one hundredth of a [[metre]], which is the current [[International System of Units|SI]] [[SI base unit|base unit]] of length. Centi is the [[SI prefix]] for a factor of 10<math>^{-2}</math>.<ref>http://www.bipm.org/en/si/si_brochure/chapter3/prefixes.html</ref> Hence a centimetre can be written as 10&times;10<math>^{-3}</math>&nbsp;m ([[engineering notation]]) or {{nowrap|1 E-2 m}} ([[Scientific notation#E notation|scientific E notation]]) — meaning {{nowrap|10 &times; 1 [[Millimetre|mm]]}} or {{nowrap|1 m / 100}} respectively. The centimetre is the base unit of length in the now deprecated [[centimetre-gram-second]] system of units.

Though for many physical quantities, [[SI prefix]]es for factors of 10<sup>3</sup> - like milli and kilo - are often preferred by technicians, the centimetre remains a practical unit of length for many everyday measurements. A centimetre is approximately the width of the fingernail of an adult person.

==Equivalence to other units of length==
1 centimetre is ''[[equal]]'' to:
* 0.01 metres, which can be represented by [[1 E-2 m|1.00 E-2 m]] (1 metre is equal to 100 centimeters)
* about 0.393700787401575 [[inch]]es (1 inch is equal to 2.54 centimetres exactly) <ref>http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/Inch.html</ref>
<!-- More: .3937007874015748031496062992125984251968503937007874015748031496062992125984251968503937 -->
1 cubic centimetre is equal to 1 [[litre|millilitre]], under the current [[SI]] system of units.

==Uses of centimetre==
In addition to its use in the measurement of [[length]], the centimeter is used:
* sometimes, to report the level of rainfall as measured by a [[rain gauge]] <ref>http://www.weathershack.com/education/rain-measurement.html</ref>
* in the CGS system, the centimetre is used to measure [[capacitance]], where 1 cm of capacitance = 1.113&times;10<math>^{-12}</math> [[Farad]] <ref>http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/Capacitance.html</ref>
* in [[Canadian]] maps, centimetres are used to make conversions from map scale to real world scale (kilometers)

==Unicode symbols==
For the purposes of compatibility with [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]] and [[Korea]]n ([[CJK]]) characters, [[Unicode]] has symbols for: <ref>[http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U3300.pdf] CJK Compatibility excerpt from The Unicode Standard, Version 4.1.</ref>
* centimetre (cm) - code 339D
* square centimetre (㎠) - code 33A0
* cubic centimetre (㎤) - code 33A4

They are useful only with East Asian fixed-width [[CJK]] fonts, because they are equal in size to one Chinese character.

==See also==
*[[1 E-2 m]]
*[[SI]]
*[[SI prefix]]
*[[Metric system]]
*[[Orders of magnitude (length)]]
*[[Conversion of units]], for comparison with other units of length

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
* [http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U3300.pdf CJK Compatibility excerpt from The Unicode Standard, Version 4.1.]

== External links ==
* [http://som.showdown.hu Screen-o-meter]

[[Category:Units of length]]
[[Category:Orders of magnitude (length)|-2]]
[[Category:Centimetre gram second system of units]]

[[ar:سنتيمتر]]
[[ay:Mitru patakachjata]]
[[zh-min-nan:Kong-hun]]
[[br:Kantimetr]]
[[ca:Centímetre]]
[[et:Sentimeeter]]
[[el:Εκατοστόμετρο]]
[[es:Centímetro]]
[[eo:Centimetro]]
[[eu:Zentimetro]]
[[fr:Centimètre]]
[[ko:센티미터]]
[[id:Sentimeter]]
[[ia:Centimetro]]
[[it:Centimetro]]
[[ka:სანტიმეტრი]]
[[la:Centimetrum]]
[[hu:Centiméter]]
[[mk:Сантиметар]]
[[nl:Centimeter]]
[[ja:センチメートル]]
[[no:Centimeter]]
[[nn:Centimeter]]
[[pl:Centymetr]]
[[pt:Centímetro]]
[[ro:Centimetru]]
[[ru:Сантиметр]]
[[sk:Centimeter]]
[[sl:Centimeter]]
[[ta:சதம மீட்டர்]]
[[th:เซนติเมตร]]
[[vi:Xentimét]]
[[tr:Santimetre]]
[[uk:Сантиметр]]
[[ur:سنٹی میٹر]]
[[zh-yue:厘米]]
[[zh:厘米]]

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