Parts-per Quadrillion to Parts-per Million conversion

What is parts-per quadrillion?

A very small number!

Parts per quadrillion (ppq) is a unit of measurement that represents one part in 1,000 trillion or 10^15.

To put it into perspective:

• 1 ppq = 1/1,000,000,000,000,000
• That's equivalent to 0.000000001%

In scientific and engineering applications, parts per quadrillion is used to express extremely small concentrations of a substance in a given volume or mass. For example, it might be used to report the concentration of a contaminant in water, air, or other substances.

To give you an idea of just how tiny 1 ppq is, consider this:

• A typical drop of blood contains around 5-6 parts per million (ppm) of hemoglobin.
• 1 ppq is equivalent to about 0.00005% of the concentration found in that same drop of blood.

Now, you might be wondering when or why someone would use a unit as small as ppq. In reality, it's mostly used in specialized scientific fields like environmental monitoring, materials science, and nanotechnology, where tiny concentrations can have significant effects on measurement results or material properties.

What is parts-per million?

Parts-per-million (ppm) is a unit of measurement that represents the number of particles or molecules in a given volume of liquid, gas, or solid. It's often used to express very small concentrations.

To understand ppm, let's break it down:

• "Parts" refers to the total number of particles or molecules.
• "Per million" means there are one million units (or parts) of something in a larger whole.

In other words, if a substance is present at 1 ppm, that means there is one part of that substance per million parts of the mixture or solution.

To illustrate this:

• If you have 10 gallons of water and 0.001 gallon of salt, the concentration would be approximately 100 ppm (0.001/10 = 0.0001 or 0.01%).
• If a water sample contains 1 milligram of mercury per liter, that's equivalent to 1 ppm.

PPM is often used in various fields:

1. Chemistry: to express concentrations of chemicals.
2. Water quality management: to measure the presence of pollutants like pesticides, heavy metals, or bacteria.
3. Food safety: to determine the concentration of contaminants or additives.
4. Air quality monitoring: to detect levels of pollutants like particulate matter (PM), ozone (O3), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

Keep in mind that ppm is a relative measurement and can be affected by various factors, such as temperature, pressure, and specific gravity. It's always essential to consider these factors when interpreting ppm values.

Now you know what parts-per-million means!