Orders of magnitude (volume)

The table lists various objects and units by the order of magnitude of their volume.

Chain structures in meteorite fragment ALH84001

Electron micrograph of icosahedral adenovirus

A scanning electron microscope image of normal circulating human blood showing red blood cells, several knobbly white blood cells including lymphocytes, a monocyte, a neutrophil and many small disc-shaped platelets

California poppy seeds

Mustard seeds

Peas in pods

Measuring spoons of 1 tablespoon and 1, 1⁄2 and 1⁄4 teaspoon

Copper measuring jugs of 1 and 1⁄2 gill

375 mL stubbie of beer

A 1⁄2-peck apple bag

A standard 200-litre
(55 US or 44 imp gal) drum

A cubic metre of concrete

A TEU container

An Olympic swimming pool

LZ 129 Hindenburg

Great Pyramid of Giza

The Three Gorges Dam

Sydney Harbour

Solar System bodies with Earth volume or less

The Cat's Eye Nebula on left (about 3×10⁴⁶ m³) and the dark cloud Barnard 68 at top (about 6×10⁴⁶ m³) are of comparable volumes; the Stingray Nebula between them is smaller with a similar volume as the small yellow light-month radius sphere, about 2×10⁴⁵ m³.

The Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635) at left with about 520 cubic light years (4.4×10⁵⁰ m³) dwarfs the Dumbbell Nebula's 12 cubic light years (1×10⁴⁹ m³) (very approximate figures)

The globular cluster Messier 5 at upper left with about 2 million cubic light years (1.7×10⁵⁴ m³) dwarfs the much smaller Bubble Nebula at lower right.

Sub-microscopic

Volume (m3)	Example
4.22419×10−105	The Planck volume
1×10−90	One cubic quectometre
1×10−81	One cubic rontometre
1×10−72	One cubic yoctometre
1×10−63	One cubic zeptometre
1×10−54	One cubic attometre
1×10−45	One cubic femtometre
~2.82×10−45	Volume of a proton
~9.4×10−44	Classical volume of an electron
1×10−36	One cubic picometre
1×10−33	One quectolitre
1×10−30	One cubic ångström or one rontolitre
7.23×10−30	Volume enclosed by the Van der Waals radius of a hydrogen atom
3.936×10−29	van der Waals volume of a helium atom
1.91×10−29	volume enclosed by the van der Waals radius of a gold atom
3.75×10−29	van der Waals volume of a H 2 molecule
5.29×10−29	van der Waals volume of a O 2 molecule
1×10−27	One cubic nanometre or one yoctolitre
1×10−24	One zeptolitre
5×10−23	Typical volume of structures on the Martian meteorite ALH84001
1×10−21	One attolitre
4×10−21	Volume of hypothesised nanobacteria
5×10−21	Volume of a typical virus

Microscopic

Volume (m3)	Example
1×10−18	One cubic micrometre or one femtolitre
9×10−18	Average volume of a platelet
9×10−17	Normal volume of a human red blood cell
2×10−16	Average volume of a lymphocyte
3.3×10−16	Mean volume of a neutrophil granulocyte
4.2×10−16	Volume of an average monocyte
1×10−15	One picolitre
2–9×10−15	One drop from a high resolution colour inkjet printer
1.3×10−13	a very fine grain of sand (0.063 mm diameter, 3 micrograms)
1×10−12	One nanolitre
6.2×10−11	A medium grain of sand (0.5 mm diameter, 1.5 milligrams)
5×10−10	Volume of a poppy seed of 1-millimetre diameter[1]
1×10−9	One cubic millimetre or one microlitre
4×10−9	Volume of a mustard seed of 2-millimetre diameter
2×10−8	Volume of a small grain of rice 2 mm wide by 5 mm long

Human measures

Volume (m3)	Example
5.92×10−8	One imperial minim
6.16×10−8	One US minim
7×10−8	Volume of a large grain of rice 3 mm wide by 12 mm long
2×10−7	Average volume of a pea
1×10−6	One cubic centimetre or one millilitre
1.18×10−6	One imperial fluid scruple
1.23×10−6	One US fluid scruple
1.80×10−6	One sai
3.55×10−6	One imperial fluid drachm
3.70×10−6	One US fluid dram
3–5×10−6	Average human ejaculation[2]
3.55–5×10−6	One teaspoon
1.14×10−5	One ligula
1.42–2.0×10−5	One tablespoon
1.639×10−5	One cubic inch
1.80×10−5	One shaku
2.84×10−5	One imperial fluid ounce
2.96×10−5	One US fluid ounce
3.5×10−5	Average amount of blood lost by a woman during menstruation
4.5×10−5	One cyathus
6.8×10−5	One acetabulum
1×10−4	Maximum volume of non-exempt liquids, gels, and aerosols allowed in a U.S. air traveler's carry-on luggage
1.18×10−4	One US gill
1.36×10−4	One quartarius
1.42×10−4	One imperial gill
1.80×10−4	One gō (a common size for serving sake)
2.73×10−4	one Roman hemina or cotyla
3.3–3.75×10−4	Volume of stubby or steinie of beer (Europe–330 mL, Canada–341 mL, Japan–350 mL, US–355 mL, Australia–375 mL)
4×10−4	Rough volume of the human urinary bladder
4.73×10−4	One US liquid pint
5.46×10−4	One sextarius
5.51×10−4	One US dry pint
5.68×10−4	One imperial pint
7.5×10−4	The most common volume for wine and liquor bottles, also the size of an Australian long neck of beer; sometimes called a 'fifth' in the United States for its approximation to the once-common one-fifth-gallon bottle
9.46×10−4	One US liquid quart
1×10−3	One cubic decimetre or one litre
1.000028×10−3	Volume of 1 kilogram of distilled water (at the temperature of maximum density (3.98 °C or 39.16 °F) and standard atmospheric pressure (101.325 kPa))
1.10×10−3	One US dry quart
1.14×10−3	One imperial quart
1.0–8.2×10−3	Typical range of automobile engine displacements
1.4×10−3	Human brain cavity
1.80×10−3	One shō (formerly a common sake-bottle size)
3.8×10−3	One US liquid gallon
4.36×10−3	One semimodius
4.40×10−3	One US dry gallon
4.5×10−3	One imperial gallon
5×10−3	Approximate volume of the blood in one adult human
6×10−3	Average total volume of the lungs of a male human
8.81×10−3	One US peck
9.09×10−3	One imperial peck
1.31×10−2	One urna
1.80×10−2	One to
1.85–3.6×10−2	One Ancient Greek amphora
2.62×10−2	One Roman amphora
3.4×10−2	One French amphora
2.83×10−2	One cubic foot
3.52×10−2	One US bushel
3.64×10−2	One imperial bushel
3.7–4.2×10−2	One firkin
6.0×10−2	Gasoline fuel tank in a car (Volvo 240)[3]
6.8–6.9×10−2	One rundlet
7.1×10−2	Average volume of an adult human
7.4–8.3×10−2	One kilderkin
9.55×10−2	One US barrel for cranberries
1.16×10−1	One US dry barrel
1.17×10−1	One US beer barrel, 31 US gallons
1.19×10−1	One US fluid barrel (apart from oil or beer), 31.5 US gallons
1.59×10−1	One oil barrel, 42 US gallons, about one tierce (158–160 L)
1.64×10−1	One imperial barrel, 36 imperial gallons
1.80×10−1	One koku
2×10−1	Standard drum size used for shipping bulk cargo
2.2–2.5×10−1	One hogshead
3.1–3.2×10−1	One puncheon or tertian
4.7–4.9×10−1	One butt (an old unit for beer and wine)
5.24×10−1	One culeus
7.65×10−1	One cubic yard
9.5–9.8×10−1	One tun (an old unit for beer and wine)
1×100	One cubic metre, one kilolitre or one stère—volume of a large domestic fridge-freezer (external dimensions)
3.85×101	External volume of a standard 20-foot ("TEU") cargo container, which has a capacity of 33.1 cubic metres
7.7×101	External volume of a standard 40-foot ("FEU") cargo container, which has a capacity of 67.5 cubic metres

Terrestrial

Volume (m3)	Example
1.05×102	Volume of a rear-engine Leyland Titan London double-decker bus
1.49×102	Volume of any A Division New York City Subway car
1×10^3 m3 (35,000 cu ft; 1.0×10−6 km3)	One cubic decametre or one megalitre
1.233×103	One acre-foot
2.5×103	Volume of an Olympic size swimming pool of minimal depth (50 m × 25 m × 2 m).
3.054×103	Volume of each of the nine spheres of the Atomium in Brussels
1.13×104	Gas volume in the first zeppelin LZ 1
1.1866×104	Amount of concrete in Trbovlje Chimney
1.56×104	Quebec's 2001 output of maple syrup
5.0×104	Typical volume of a large gasometer
8.5–9.9×104	Volume of the Royal Albert Hall auditorium[4]
1.84×105	Volume of gas in the USS Macon (ZRS-5) zeppelin
2.11890×105	Volume of gas in the Hindenburg zeppelin
6.50×105	Volume of crude oil that can be carried aboard the Knock Nevis supertanker
9.66×105	Volume of Taipei 101's gross floor space[5]
1×10^6 m3 (1,300,000 cu yd; 0.0010 km3)	One cubic hectometre, one gigalitre or one kilostère
1.4×106	Volume the 1910 Lakeview Gusher oil spilt (the biggest oil gusher in US history)
1.5644×106	Volume of concrete in the Panama Canal Locks
2.6006×106	Volume of stone in the Great Pyramid of Giza
3×106	Approximately amount of mud and clay that slid into the South Nation River valley as a landslide on 20 June 1993
3.33×106	Volume of concrete in Hoover Dam
3.664883×106	Volume of the NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building
8×106	Volume of chalk excavated in the construction of the Channel Tunnel
1×107	Volume of Chagan Lake, artificial lake created by nuclear explosion
1.7×107	Volume of material in the Gatun Dam, completed in 1913
2.8×107	Volume of concrete in the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest concrete structure
4.3×107	Volume of Aswan Dam
9×107	Volume of gas required per day by India in 2005
1.01×108	Volume of the Grimsel reservoir
1.73×108	Volume of Lake Baldegg, Switzerland
2.05×108	Volume of material excavated in the construction of the Panama Canal
2.2×108	Volume of Lac de la Gruyère, Switzerland
2.85×108	Volume of Lake Halwill, Switzerland
3.20–3.35×108	Volume of the Great Wall of China
3–5×108	Volume of all humans alive on the planet (based on an average mass of 40–70 kg per human)
4×108	Predicted volume of natural gas required per day by India in 2025
5×108	One sydharb—volume of Sydney Harbour, Australia[6]
6.93×108	Volume of Lake Murten, Switzerland
1×10^9 m3 (1.3×109 cu yd; 1.0 km3)	One cubic kilometre or one teralitre
1.2×109	Approximate volume of rock ejected during the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
1.3×109	volume of Lake Biel, Switzerland
2.5×109	volume of Lake Walen, Switzerland
3.2×109	volume of Lake Zug
3.9×109	Volume of Lake Zürich
4.168×109	One cubic mile
5×109	Volume of crude oil consumed by the world in a year
5.17×109	volume of Lake Brienz
5.2×109	Volume of the artificial Gatun Lake (Panama Canal)
6.5×109	Volume of Lake Thun
6.5×109	volume of Lake Lugano
1×1010	Estimated volume of rock ejected during the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo
1.4×1010	volume of Lake Neuchâtel
1.45×1010	Volume of Lake Lucerne
3.52×1010	Volume of Lake Mead, the reservoir of the Hoover Dam
3.7×1010	Volume of Lago Maggiore
5.5×1010	Volume of Lake Constance
8.89×1010	Volume of Lake Geneva
1×1011	Estimated volume of rock exploded in eruption of Mount Tambora volcano on 12 April 1815
1.33×1011	Volume of Lake Nasser
1.44×1011	Volume of Fedchenko Glacier and its tributaries
2×1011	Estimated volume of the annual net inflow of seawater to the Black Sea (from the Mediterranean Sea via the Bosporus)
2.8×1011	Volume of Lake Onega
~3×1011	Volume of crude oil on Earth
3.2×1011	Estimated volume of the annual inflow of freshwater to the Black Sea
4.84×1011	Volume of Lake Erie
8.37×1011	Volume of Lake Ladoga
1×10^12 m3 (1.3×1012 cu yd; 1,000 km3)	One petalitre
1.1×1012	Volume of the Aral Sea in 1960
2.76×1012	Volume of Lake Victoria
2.8×1012	Volume of magma erupted by the Toba supervolcano 74000 years ago
4.918×1012	Volume of Lake Michigan
5×1012	Volume of the Fish Canyon Tuff erupted by the La Garita Caldera
5.5×1012	Volume of the asteroid 433 Eros
1.2232×1013	Volume of Lake Superior
1.84×1013	Volume of Lake Tanganyika
2.36×1013	Volume of Lake Baikal
5.5×1014	Volume of the Black Sea
1×1015	One exalitre
1×10^15 m3 (1.3×1015 cu yd; 1,000,000 km3)	Volume of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, which contains the deepest point on the Earth's surface
2.6×1015	Volume of Greenland ice cap
3.7×1015	Volume of the Mediterranean Sea
1.54×1016	Volume of water contained in the rings of Saturn (rough estimate)
3×1016	Volume of water contained in the Antarctic ice sheet (rough estimate)
3×1017	Volume of the Atlantic Ocean and volume of the Indian Ocean (rough estimates)
4.5×1017	Volume of Ceres
1×1018	One cubic megametre or one zettalitre—volume of the Pacific Ocean (rough estimate)
1.335×1018	Volume of all oceans on Earth

Astronomical

Volume (m3)	Example
3×1018	Estimated volume of Europa's oceans
6.4×1018	Volume of Pluto
2.2×1019	Volume of the Moon
6.1×1019	Volume of planet Mercury
1.6×1020	Volume of planet Mars
9.28×1020	Volume of planet Venus
1×1021	One yottalitre
1.08×1021	Volume of planet Earth
2.25×1021	Volume of all the rocky planets in the Solar System
6.38×1022	Volume of planet Neptune
7.02×1022	Volume of planet Uranus
9.23×1023	Volume of planet Saturn
1×1024	One ronnalitre
1.53×1024	Volume of planet Jupiter
2.59×1024	Total volume of all the planets in the Solar System
1×1027	One cubic gigametre or one quettalitre
1.41×1027	Volume of the Sun
~1×1030	volume of Alcyone, brightest star in the Pleiades[7]
~1.7×1031	Volume of Arcturus, brightest star in Boötes[8]
3.4×1032	Volume of Rigel, the brightest star in Orion[9]
~5×1032	Volume of a red giant the same mass as the Sun
1.4×1033	Volume of γ Crucis, a red giant in Crux[10][11]
~1×1034	Volume of Deneb, a white supergiant in Cygnus[12]
6.4×1034	Volume of η Carinae, a white supergiant in Cygnus[12]
1.3×1035	Estimated volume of S Orionis[13]
1.5×1035	Volume of Antares, a Mira variable in Orion[14]
~2.75×1035	Volume of Betelgeuse
1×1036	One cubic terametre
4×1036	Possible volume of μ Cephei (estimates vary)
8×1036	Estimated volume of VY Canis Majoris, a red hypergiant star[15]
3.9×1038	volume of a sphere which would enclose the orbit of Neptune
6–10×1039	Possible volume of the Heliosphere inside the termination shock
1.1×1041	Daily increase in volume of the Cat's Eye Nebula[16]
4×1043	Annual increase in volume of the Cat's Eye Nebula[16][17]
1×1045	One cubic petametre
~1.7×1045	Approximate volume of the Stingray Nebula[18]
~2.7×1046	Volume of the bright inner nebula of the Cat's Eye Nebula[16]
5.5×1046	The volume of a Bok globule like Barnard 68[19][20]
4.4×1047	The volume of a Bok globule one light year across[19][20]
8.47×1047	One cubic light-year
~1.7×1048	Volume of the Oort Cloud, assuming a radius of 50000 AU
~1.6×1049	Volume of the Dumbbell Nebula
2.94×1049	One cubic parsec
4.4×1050	Approximate volume of the Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635) (assuming a radius of 5 light years, sources differ)[21][22][23]
1×1054	One cubic exametre
3×1055	Estimated volume of a small dwarf galaxy like NGC 1705
3.3×1055	Estimated volume of the Local Bubble, assuming a radius of 100 parsecs (~39 million cubic light years)
3×1058	Estimated volume of a dwarf galaxy like the Large Magellanic Cloud
2.94×1058	One cubic kiloparsec
~3.3×1061	Volume of a galaxy like the Milky Way
1×1063	One cubic zettametre—approximate volume of whole Milky Way including Globes
~5×1068	Volume of the Local Group
6.7×1071	Volume of the Gemini Void
1×1072	One cubic yottametre
1.2×1072	Volume of the Local Void (about 1.4×1024 cubic light years)[24]
3.5×1072	Volume of the Virgo Supercluster[25]
1×1073	Volume of the Sculptor Void (about 1.1×1025 cubic light years)[24]
2×1073	Least volume of the Southern Local Supervoid (about 2.2×1025 cubic light years)[26]
3.4×1080	Volume of the Observable Universe
1×1081	One cubic ronnametre
7.1×1081	Lower bound on the volume of the universe based on analysis of WMAP[27]
6.7×1083	Lower bound on the volume of the entire universe
1×1090	One cubic quettametre
~1×10113	rough upper bound on the physical size of the present universe, a result of the maximum number of Hubble volumes.[28]