billionth

One billionth is the reciprocal of a billion, which means it has one of two definitions depending on whether the long scale or short scale definition is being used.

Short scale countries

In most English-speaking countries, a billionth is equal to 0.000 000 001, or 1 x 10^-9 in scientific notation. The prefix for this number is nano, and is abbreviated as "n" (for example, in electronics, one nanofarad would be written as 1 nF).

Long scale countries

In most European countries, a billionth is equal to 0.000 000 000 001, or 1 x 10^-12 in scientific notation. The prefix for this number is pico, and is abbreviated as "p" (for example, in electronics, one picofarad would be written as 1 pF).

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