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Length and Distance Converter

Convert between length and distance units including meters, feet, miles, kilometers, inches, yards, nautical miles, light-years, and more. Essential for measurements, navigation, and scientific calculations.

Enter Length/Distance Value

Quick Reference:
1 meter = 3.28084 feet = 39.3701 inches
1 kilometer = 0.621371 miles
1 mile = 1.60934 kilometers
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters

All Conversions

Enter a length/distance value to see all conversions

Real-World Length Examples

Paper Clip
0.03 m
Standard paper clip length
Credit Card
0.0856 m
Standard credit card length
Smartphone
0.15 m
Average smartphone length
Baseball Bat
0.84 m
Standard baseball bat
Football Field
100 yd
Length of football field
Marathon
42.195 km
Marathon race distance
Earth Circumference
40075 km
Earth's equator
Moon Distance
384400 km
Earth to Moon
Sun Distance
1 AU
1 AU = Earth to Sun
Nearest Star
4.24 ly
Proxima Centauri

Length and distance conversion is essential for measurements, construction, navigation, travel, and scientific calculations. This converter helps you convert between metric (meters, kilometers) and imperial (feet, miles, inches) units, as well as specialized units for navigation and astronomy.

Understanding Length Units

Common length and distance units:

  • Metric System: Millimeters (mm), centimeters (cm), meters (m), kilometers (km) - used worldwide
  • Imperial System: Inches (in), feet (ft), yards (yd), miles (mi) - used primarily in the US
  • Navigation: Nautical miles (nmi) - used for sea and air navigation
  • Astronomy: Light-years (ly), astronomical units (AU), parsecs (pc) - for cosmic distances

Common Length Conversions

Metric to Imperial:
1 m = 3.28084 ft = 39.3701 in
1 km = 0.621371 mi
1 cm = 0.393701 in
1 mm = 0.0393701 in
Imperial to Metric:
1 ft = 0.3048 m = 30.48 cm
1 mi = 1.60934 km = 1609.34 m
1 in = 2.54 cm = 25.4 mm
1 yd = 0.9144 m

Applications of Length Conversion

Everyday Use:
• Height measurements
• Room dimensions
• Travel distances
• Sports measurements
Professional:
• Construction & engineering
• Navigation & aviation
• Surveying & mapping
• Astronomy & physics

Astronomical Distance Units

Special units for measuring cosmic distances:

  • Astronomical Unit (AU): Average Earth-Sun distance = 149.6 million km. Used for solar system distances.
  • Light-Year (ly): Distance light travels in one year = 9.461 trillion km. Used for interstellar distances.
  • Parsec (pc): 3.26 light-years = 30.86 trillion km. Used in professional astronomy for stellar distances.
  • Examples: Sun to Earth = 1 AU, Nearest star = 4.24 ly, Milky Way diameter = ~100,000 ly

Note: All conversions are mathematically exact based on standard conversion factors. The meter is the SI base unit, defined as the distance light travels in 1/299,792,458 of a second. All other length units are derived from this standard. For very large or very small numbers, scientific notation may be used for clarity.

FAQs

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