The micrometre (International spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: µm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is an SI derived unit of length equaling 1×10^-6 of a metre (SI standard prefix "micro-" = 10^-6); that is, one millionth of a metre (or one thousandth of a millimetre, 0.001 mm, or about 0.000039 inch). The symbol µm is sometimes rendered as um if the symbol µ cannot be used, or if the writer is not aware of the distinction.