Return to Scale View
About News Create With Us
Return to Scale View

How big is HIV?

HIV is 90 nanometer

Introduction

Have you ever wondered how something so small can have such a huge impact? Let’s talk about HIV, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It’s a tiny, invisible particle that can change people’s lives. But how small is it really? Let’s find out!

How Small is HIV?

HIV is incredibly small. It’s so tiny, in fact, that you can’t see it with your naked eye. If we have to put it into numbers, an HIV particle is about 0.1 micrometers (μm) in size. Now, you might be thinking, “What’s a micrometer?” A micrometer is one millionth of a meter! To give you an idea of how small that really is:

  • A strand of human hair is around 75 micrometers wide. That means if you lined up HIV particles side by side, you could fit about 750 of them across the width of a single hair!
  • A red blood cell is about 7 micrometers in size. So, you could fit about 70 HIV particles across a red blood cell.
  • A grain of sand is about 100 micrometers. So, you could fit about 1,000 HIV particles across a grain of sand! Those comparisons really put into perspective how small HIV is, right?

The Power of Small

While HIV is very tiny, it’s also very powerful. It’s a type of virus called a Lentivirus, and it affects humans by weakening their immune system over time. This can lead to a condition called AIDS, or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, which can make the body more susceptible to infections and diseases. HIV can be transmitted in several ways, often through contact with certain body fluids like blood, semen, and vaginal fluids. It can also be passed from an infected mother to her baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. Despite its size, HIV is present in these fluids as both free virus particles and within infected immune cells.

The Size of HIV’s Impact

HIV might be microscopically small, but its impact is anything but. Without treatment, the average survival time after infection with HIV is estimated to be 9 to 11 years, depending on the subtype of HIV. This tiny virus has a tremendous effect on the health and lives of those infected.

Conclusion

Size doesn’t always speak to the power or importance of something. HIV is a perfect example of this. Despite being thousands of times smaller than a grain of sand, it’s a significant global health issue affecting millions of people. Remember, big things often come in small packages! So, next time you’re walking along the beach, think about how many HIV particles could fit on a single grain of sand. It’s a small reminder of the power of the microscopic world, and why we should never underestimate something because of its size.

Smaller By Category
Ultraviolet Wavelength
Ultraviolet light can give you a tan. I used to think the sunlight and heat burnt your skin to make it darker, like how a barbecue grill turns all of the food black. Now I know that's not true.
Hepatitis B Virus
Hepatitis B infects a lot of humans. In fact, almost one third of the world population has been infected at some point. This virus can cause vomiting, liver inflammation, and possibly death, but you most likely won't even notice if you have it at all!
Porcine circovirus
The Porcine circovirus is one of the smallest viruses. It only requires three proteins to replicate. If you consider viruses to be alive, then the Porcine circovirus is the smallest living thing. However, scientists disagree whether viruses are alive or not.
Larger By Category
Smallest Thing Visible to an Optical Microscope
Optical microscopes cannot see objects smaller than 200 nanometers because the wavelengths of visible light will pass right through them.
Bacteriophage
The bacteriophage, or just "phage" for short, is a type of bacteria-infecting virus. I think they look like robots, not life forms. But it also could be argued that viruses are not alive at all.
Mimivirus
This little thingy was discovered in 1992 within an amoeba, which is only 500 times larger. Mimivirus used to be the largest virus known, but now that is the Pithovirus.