Length per cell (uncoiled)2 m
435 trillionIron nuclei
4 millionthsLake Michigan lengths
Total length of all 46 chromosomes uncoiled
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Human DNA Strand (Uncoiled)
2 meters of code packed into 6 micrometers/The Human Body
If you uncoiled all the DNA from a single human cell, it would stretch about 2 meters long, yet it's packed into a nucleus just 6 micrometers across. Each strand is only about 2.5 nanometers wide, making it one of the most extreme packaging feats in nature. The entire human genome contains about 3.2 billion base pairs encoding roughly 20,000 genes. If you uncoiled the DNA from every cell in your body, it would stretch to the sun and back roughly 600 times.
Measurements
Mass per cell6.4 trillionths kg
2.1 quadrillionthsTesla Cybertrucks
12.2 trillionthsOlympic gold medals
About 6.4 picograms of DNA per diploid cell
Double helix diameter2.5 billionths m
1,042Electron wavelengths
4.2 billionthsTumbleweed diameters
625 trillionthsHigh jump bar lengths
2.5 nanometers, the width of the DNA molecule
Base pair spacing340 trillionths m
8.1 quadrillionthsMarathon distances
1.9 billionthsCarrot lengths
1.1 billionthsSubway Footlongs
0.34 nm between each base pair along the helix
Helical pitch (one full turn)3.4 billionths m
227 millionthsWhite blood cells
6.5 billionthsHuman forearms
10 base pairs per turn, 3.4 nm per turn
Cell nucleus diameter6 millionths m
4.1 millionthsDanny DeVitos
20 millionthsCelery stalks
About 6 μm - the entire 2 m strand fits in here
Genome data (if digital)800 million bytes
1.7 tenthsEntire Shrek DVDs
3.6 hundredthsWikipedia text dumps
3.2 billion base pairs × 2 bits each ≈ 800 MB