Math Is Fun Forum

SuperLynx

Member

Registered: 2009-06-28

Posts: 335

Thickness of thousands of an inch

Could someone tell me how thick .003 thousands of an inch is, I need a visual cue ?

Bob

Administrator

Registered: 2010-06-20

Posts: 10,143

Re: Thickness of thousands of an inch

hi SuperLynx

I'm guessing you mean 3/1000 of an inch and not 0.003 thousandths = 0.000003 as that would be too small to see. 

It's a tough one.  I checked out the size of guitar strings and it seems the thinnest string is typically 0.008 inches.

Feeler gauges are used by engineers to judge gaps in machines (eg.  spark plug gap) so you might ask a car mechanic to show you one.

http://uk.farnell.com/ck-tools/t3525-41 … dp/1518960

Human hair varies from person to person with an average around 0.004 inches.  So you need to find someone with fine hair.

Hope that helps.  Happy Christmas!

Bob

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Children are not defined by school ...........The Fonz
You cannot teach a man anything;  you can only help him find it within himself..........Galileo Galilei
Sometimes I deliberately make mistakes, just to test you!  …………….Bob

Agnishom

Real Member

From: Riemann Sphere

Registered: 2011-01-29

Posts: 24,974

Website

Re: Thickness of thousands of an inch

The plank's length is still smaller.

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'And fun? If maths is fun, then getting a tooth extraction is fun. A viral infection is fun. Rabies shots are fun.'
'God exists because Mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists because we cannot prove it'
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