d n a .what is each pillar partical made of
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Visualizing the Relative Size of Particles
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Lately, the world’s biggest threats have been microscopic in size.
From the global COVID-19 pandemic to wildfires ripping through the U.S. West Coast, it seems as though our lungs can’t catch a break, or more aptly, a breath.
But just how small are the particles we’re currently battling? And how does their size compare to other tiny molecules?
Specks Too Small to See
While the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is relatively small in size, it isn’t the smallest virus particle out there.
Both the Zika virus and the T4 Bacteriophage—responsible for E. coli—are just a fraction of the size, although they have not nearly claimed as many lives as COVID-19 to date.
Coronavirus particles are smaller than both red or white blood cells, however, a single blood cell is still virtually invisible to the naked eye. For scale, we’ve also added in a single human hair as a benchmark on the upper end of the size range.
Particles Average Size (microns, μm)
Zika virus 45nm
T4 Bacteriophage 225nm
Coronavirus
COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) 0.1-0.5μm
Bacterium 1-3μm
Light dust particle 1μm
Dust particle: PM2.5 ≤2.5μm
Respiratory droplets containing COVID-19 5-10μm
Red blood cell 7-8μm
Dust particle: PM10 ≤10μm
Pollen grain
15μm
White blood cell 25μm
Visibility threshold
(Limit of what the naked eye can see) 10-40μm
Grain of salt 60μm
Fine beach sand 90μm
Human hair 50-180μm
