längden

Längden, in Swedish, refers to the concept of length or the extent of an object in one dimension. In a general sense, length is the measure of how long something is, or the distance between two points. It is a fundamental quantity in physics and geometry and is often denoted by the symbol L or l in formulas.

In the International System of Units (SI), the base unit of length is the meter. The meter is defined as the distance light travels in vacuum during 1/299,792,458 of a second. From the meter, other units are derived, such as the kilometer (1,000 meters), the centimeter (0.01 meters), and the millimeter (0.001 meters). For smaller scales, micrometers, nanometers, and picometers are commonly used in science and engineering. Practical measurement tools include rulers and tape measures for everyday use, calipers and micrometers for precision work, and laser rangefinders or interferometers for high-precision tasks.

In mathematics and physics, length can refer to the Euclidean distance between two points, the arc length of a curve, or the magnitude of a vector. Different geometries may define distance differently, but the Euclidean metric underpins most common calculations.

Historically, length standards have evolved from artifact-based or body-based references to the metric system, and ultimately to the SI definition tied to the speed of light. In practice, längden is a neutral term used for both everyday measurements and technical contexts in Swedish.