Height3 thousandths m
1.2 hundredthsScrewdriver lengths
4.29Pencil lead widths
About 3 mm - the smallest bone in the body
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Stapes - Smallest Bone in the Human Body
3 milligrams of bone that lets you hear everything/The Human Body
The stapes (stirrup bone) in the middle ear is the smallest bone in the human body at just 3 mm long and roughly 3 milligrams in mass. Along with the malleus and incus, it transmits sound vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear. It amplifies sound pressure by about 20x between the eardrum and the oval window of the cochlea. Without it, the world would be a very quiet place.
Measurements
Mass3 millionths kg
20.7 millionthsBaseball weights
57.4 quadrillionthsTitanics
6 hundredthsWater drops
Roughly 2.5-3 mg
Footplate width1.3 thousandths m
9.8 septillionthsMagellanic Cloud widths
163Red blood cells
867 millionthsHockey sticks
The flat base that contacts the oval window, ~1.3 mm
Footplate length3 thousandths m
4 thousandthsHuman strides
5.5 hundredthsPink erasers
3.4 hundredthsCrayons
About 3 mm along the long axis
Footplate area3.2 millionths m²
1.9 millionthsHuman skin surfaces
305 billionthsTrampolines
About 3.2 mm²
Optimal transmission frequency1,000 Hz
24.3Bass guitar low E strings
25.6 billionths5G millimeter waves
50Woodpecker pecks
Most efficient around 1 kHz; human hearing spans 20 Hz to 20 kHz