SI units get new prefixes for huge and tiny numbers

Elephant and mouse

Source: © Ulla Puggaard/Ikon Images

Ronna, quetta, ronto and quecto are the first new prefixes for the metric system in 30 years

An electron’s mass is about one rontogram, Jupiter weighs two quettagrams and the diameter of the observable universe is one ronnameter. This is what representatives from 100 countries at the General Conference on Weights and Measures decided on Friday as they adopted four new SI unit prefixes.