Despite the invention decimal system, which is now used by the whole world, American and English measures of length are often found in everyday life. Let's take the diagonal of the TV. In the passports of equipment, warranty cards, everywhere the size is indicated in inches. The same applies to the diameter of pipes, sizes of tools, bolts, nuts. In order not to look stupid in situations with unfamiliar quantities, it is necessary to have an idea about the main ones.
Measures of length
Our ancestors did not have digital and magnetic instruments capable of measuring the desired value. Therefore, for convenience, they used a measure own body, that is, what is always with you. These were feet, fingers, elbows, steps, palms.
- Mile as the most popular unit, adopted around the world to indicate the distance of air and land routes.
1 mile (mil) = 1609 m
1 nautical mile= 1852 m
- Basic quantity American systems s taken to be a foot.
1 foot (ft) = 30.48 cm
The meaning of the foot comes from England. This value measured a distance equal to 16 feet and was called a stock (stock).
- Size inch was popular in all European countries before the introduction of the SI system. It was calculated by the length of the joint thumb or its width at the base.
1 inch (in) = 25.4 mm
There is an opinion that the size of an inch was determined by three grains of barley, laid along one after another. According to another version, the component of an inch was 1/36 of a yard, which was established by King Henry I in 1101. Its length was equal to the distance from the middle finger right hand to the tip of his nose.
- Yard was originally taken as average length step.
1 yard (yd) = 0.9144 m
- Line - used in the military to indicate the caliber of a weapon.
1 line (ln) = 2.12 mm
- league. The meaning of the league has long been used in naval battles, to determine the distance of a cannon shot. Later it began to be used for land and postal affairs.
1 league = 4.83 km
Measures rarely used in everyday life
1 mil = 0.025 mm
1 hand = 10.16 cm
1 genus = 5.029 m
1 chain = 20.12 m (for surveyors) and 30.48 m (for builders)
1 furlong = 201.17 m
1 faton = 1.83 m
1 el = 1.14 m
1 pace = 0.76 m
1 qubit = 46-56cm
1 span = 22.86 cm
1 link = 20.12 cm (for surveyors) and 30.48 cm (for builders)
1 flieger = 11.43 cm
1 nail = 5.71 cm
1 barleycorn = 8.47 mm
1 dot = 0.353 mm
1 cable = 219.5 m (in England it is 183 m)
The most popular units of measurement
USA is the only developed country, which abandoned the metric system. In addition to the States, 2 more countries do not use the SI system, these are Liberia and Myanmar.
Once in this country, do not be surprised if in cold, wet weather you ask how many degrees outside and they answer you that plus 32. Just 0 degrees Celsius, this is American 32 Fahrenheit. When approaching a gas station, be sure to convert liters to gallons. Our 3.78 liters corresponds to one gallon.
- Barrel- a measure of volume for bulk materials and liquids.
Translated from English means barrel. In the world, the calculation of oil in barrels is recognized as the most convenient, so oil companies set prices in dollars per barrel.
1 barrel (bbl) = 158.9 liters
1 dry barrel = 115.6 liters
Especially for calculating the volume of beer in the UK, the concept of a beer barrel was introduced. Its value changed over time and depended on the type of drink (ale or beer). The value was finally established in 1824 and amounted to 163.66 liters per 1 barrel.
- Bushel- a measure of volume for dry substances in agriculture(measured the volume of grain, vegetables, fruits). In international trade, a bushel is accepted as a container weighing 18 kg.
1 bushel (bu) = 35.24 liters
- Gallon- the same as the barrel. A gallon is in turn divided into a pint and an ounce.
1 fluid gallon (gl) = 3.79 dm3
1 gallon for loose bodies(gl) \u003d 4.4 dm 3
1 pint = 1/8 gallon = 0.47 dm3
1 ounce = 1/16 pint = 29.57 ml
An ounce has retained its value since ancient times and was approximately equal to 30 g. In the American system, the concept of an ounce is widely used in the pharmaceutical and jewelry business.
- Quart- a unit of measure for the volume of a container, equal to ¼ gallon
1 quart for liquid = 0.946 liters
1 quart solids = 1.1 liters
Measures of area
The square acre has found the greatest distribution in world literature..
Its original designation served to calculate the area of land that one peasant with one ox could cultivate.
Converting the value of acre to the SI system is very simple. If we divide the number by 10, we get the result in meters. And if you divide by 2 - in hectares.
1 inch (sq. in) = 6.45 cm2
1 foot (sq. ft) = 929 cm 2
1 yard (sq.yd) = 0.836 m2
1 mile (sq.mi) = 2.59 km2
1 acre (a) \u003d 4046.86 m 2
Measures of volume
Why define volume?
- to describe the capacity of household appliances
- for shipping containers
- to determine the amount of gas
- to describe the capacity of commercial warehouses
The most common measure three-dimensional space use ft. A cubic foot is defined as the volume of a cube, with an edge of 1 foot. Less commonly used values are yard and inch.
To get a cubic volume, you need to multiply the length, height and width.
1 ton (register) = 2.83 m 3
1 yard = 0.76 m 3
1 foot \u003d 28.32 dm 3
1 inch = 16.39 cm3
Measures of weight
- The pound is used as a measure of weight and to describe mass.
In the US, the pound is used to express pressure per square inch. The pound is also used to describe the weight of ammunition (cartridges, shells, bullets).
To convert pounds to kilograms, you need to divide the number of pounds by 2.2
1 lb (lb) = 453.59 g
- An ounce is a measure of weight that has found application in jewelry, banking , to determine the weight of precious metals and stones, as well as in the pharmaceutical business.
To convert an ounce to kilograms, you need to divide its amount by 35.2
1 ounce (oz) = 28.35 g
- A stone is a unit of measure that is used to describe the weight of the human body..
1 stone (st) = 6.35 kg
- A short ton is a unit of weight equivalent to 2,000 pounds.. In the USA, the long ton is also known, but practically not used, which is equal to 2240 trade pounds.
1 short ton = 907.18 kg
1 long ton = 1016 kg
If you are going to America, check out the local standard of measures. This way you will avoid awkward situations and choose the right question for you. For this, it is not necessary to memorize numbers. It is enough to download a simple converter to your phone.
In fairness, it should be noted that Scotland in its Everyday life uses not only English, but also English system of measures, as, indeed, the whole of Great Britain does, as well as the USA!
And whoever said that English system of measures
is supplanted by the international metric, this process is very, very slow.
Therefore, it would be nice to learn how to navigate in it, then the sinks with two taps will seem almost native!
If someone suddenly needs to urgently recalculate something right on the move, then you can immediately use the simplest and, in my opinion, very convenient converter for length, weight, area, volume, temperature, which I managed to find on the Internet.
Looking through the materials for this note, I came across a forum where someone indignantly asked, why do the British and Americans have such an inconvenient system of measurements? Why don't they use international metric?
If we look at the map of the world, we will see quite unexpected picture, where countries that do not officially recognize the metric system of measures are marked in red. These are the USA, Liberia and Burma. Great Britain officially adopted the metric system, but in fact continues to use it the old fashioned way English system of measures .
Perhaps this is due to a certain bias towards everything French. BUT metric system started at the end of the 18th century in France, when the meter was defined as 1/10 million share of the fourth part of the so-called Paris meridian. Or maybe just because of natural conservatism. Be that as it may, having no idea about English system of measures, traveling in Scotland by car may, for example, unwittingly exceed the speed limit, since the speedometer shows miles, not kilometers. Yes, and when calculating gas mileage for a trip, you may encounter such a thing as mpg (miles per gallon). Well, a beer drinker may be taken by surprise by the question: “Would you like a pint or half a pint?” I also felt rather uncomfortable at first, and even wrote a short story, Stones, Pints, and Angels' Share.
And just a couple of days ago, looking for an ancient Pictish burial in the Urquhart Glen, I came across such a pretty 100 yds sign, and thought deeply. And if there wasn’t this cute little man on the sign, hinting that the search could be continued on foot, I would have been confused. So:
1. MEASURES OF LENGTH:
1 mile mail- ml, mls = 1.6 km
1 inch - 1 inch - inch- ", in, ins = 2.5 cm
1 foot foot- ft = 12" = 30.5 cm
(plural fit - feet)
1 yard - 1 yard - yard - yd and yds = 91.4 cm
2. AREA MEASURES:
1 acre - 1acre - eykr - abbr. no = 0.4 hectares (ha)
3. VOLUME MEASURES (LIQUID):
1 pint - 1 pint - paint- abbr. no = 0.6 l
1 gallon - 1 gallon - halon - gal = 4.5 l
1 barrel - 1 barrel - barel -
bbl = 164 l
(or 36 gallons, here we are already counting on barrels;)
4. WEIGHT MEASURES:
1 pound - 1 pound - pound- lb,lbs = 0.5 kg
1 stone - 1 stone - stone - st = 6.4 kg
1 ounce - 1 ounce - aunts - oz=28.4g
5. TEMPERATURE
FROM mixed success temperature is announced for all familiar scale Celsius, but you can also run into insane numbers on the Fahrenheit scale, German physicist, who at the beginning of the 18th century took the most low temperature in the city of Danzig, where he then lived. Wow, how!
The Fahrenheit temperature (t ° F) is related to the Celsius scale (t ° C) by a simple relationship:
t ° С = 5/9 (t ° F - 32)
t °F = 9/5 °С + 32.
And therefore once again I give a link to the converter of length, weight, area, volume and temperature that I liked so much.
As usual, I will be glad to receive your feedback, questions and comments, which can be placed in the comments box at the bottom of this note.
Certified travel guide to the north of Scotland
A few facts about the British imperial and American systems of measures and weights
Many have heard that there are British imperial and American systems of weights and measures. Do you know how they differ? These two systems are closely related, they both originated from English system, which, in turn, is also based on the system of measures ancient rome. The American and British systems of measures are so close that they are often confused. And it is not surprising, given that often in these systems the names of the units are the same, although their meanings may differ.
History of units
The units of measurement that are in use today in the US and partly in the UK were introduced during the Norman conquests. The yard is the only unit that has remained virtually unchanged since that time. The yard replaced the previously used cubit (ell). Chain (chain) - another measure that came from the old England, which has not changed much. On the other hand, the foot (foot), which is in use today, has changed from the original foot. Today the unit has a rod of 16.5 feet, but originally there were exactly 15. The furlong and the acre have not changed much in the last thousand years. Initially, they were a measure of the value of land, but later became simply units of area.
Confusion with British pounds
Differences between British and American systems
Perhaps the most unusual are units of volume. A US liquid gallon is 0.83 imperial gallon and a US dry gallon is 0.97 imperial gallon. In the UK, a single gallon is used for liquids and solids.
US Independence
After the US Declaration of Independence, America broke away and developed its own system of weights and measures. That is why today the values \u200b\u200bof American and British gallons, pounds, yards differ. Ultimately, the two governments decided to work together and introduce precise definitions yards and feet, based on copies of official standards that the British Parliament adopted in 1850. True, I had to admit that these "official" standards were not of very high quality and cannot provide the accuracy required in modern world. So in 1960, two governments officially redefined the pound and yard based on the standards used in the metric system. And although the changes in 1960 were very small in magnitude, their consequence was the emergence of two parallel standards of measures of length in the United States - surveying measures (the old standard) and international measures (the new one, tied to metric units).
The differences between US and UK units are often the subject of discussion and jokes among tourists. For example, in England, beer is sold by the pint, with a British pint being larger than an American pint. This spawns endless jokes about Americans not being able to calculate their dose of booze and Brits who always have too much high prices per gallon of gasoline.
What other differences are there in units?
Until 1960, the British yard and pound did not differ significantly from their American counterparts, at least for everyday use - measuring not very long distances or selling, for example, products. But there were some differences even in this common usage. For example, in the United States, short distances are usually expressed in feet, while in England they are expressed in yards.
It's hard to believe, but people who grew up among a different measurement system and other units are still alive. In the old imperial system, there was a unit of stone (stone), equal to 14 pounds. Eight stone was a centner (hundredweight), and a ton was equal to 20 centners or 2240 pounds. There are no stones in the American system, and a centner is equal to 100 pounds. Accordingly, a ton is equal to 2000 pounds. The round value 2000 is easier to remember than 2240, but the existence of two different options tons and centners leads to confusion, especially in international trade. So that people in different countries it was easier to understand the difference when talking about a ton, often the British ton is called long (long ton), and the American - short (short ton). But there is still metric ton(metric ton)!
If you think that modern system too confusing, think of those who lived in the 19th century. Thomas Jefferson in his "Plan for Establishing common standards coins, weights and measures" noted that only in the USA there were 14 different definitions gallon. The smallest of the gallons contained 224 cubic inches and the largest contained 282 cubic inches. The difference is more than a quarter! Ultimately, the Queen Anne gallon was chosen as the official one.
For relax international trade oil was chosen as a single unit of measurement - a barrel. One barrel is 159 liters or 42 US gallons. Precious metals are traded in troy ounces, one troy ounce is equal to 31.10 grams.
Eventually the whole world will probably come to unified system measurements. Most likely, it will be the metric system. But while we still live in a world where a wild mixture of systems and units coexist, including units that are similarly named, but with different values. Isn't our world a little crazy?
Metric (metric tone)= 2204.6 pounds = 0.984 big tons = 1000 kg
3.2. American mass system
- 1 quintal = 1 handredweight = 100 pounds = 1 cental = 45.36 kg
- 1 slug = 14.6 kg
- 1 quarter = 1/4 handdwt = 25 pounds = 11.34 kg
- 1 stone = 14 pounds = 6.35 kg
4. Measures of volume for liquids
4.1. British Imperial System of Measures for Liquids
- 1 baht (ukr. butt) = 108-140 gallons = 490.97-636.44 liters (dm, approx. 2 hogsheads)
- 1 baht of beer = 108 gallons = 17.339 feet = 490.97 liters
- 1 pipe = 105 gallons = 2 hogsheads = 477.34 liters (dm)
- 1 hogshead (big barrel, Ukrainian) boar head ) = 52.5 imperial gallons = 238.67 liters (dm)
- 1 barrel = 31-42 gallons = 140.9-190.9 liters (dm)
- 1 barrel for liquid (beer) (Barrel) = 36 imperial gallons = 163.65 liters (dm)
- 1 barrel for crude oil (Barrel (American petroleum)) = 34.97 gallons = 158.988 liters (dm)
- 1 kilderkin = 1/2 barrel = 2 ferkin = 16-18 gallons = 72.7-81.8 l (dm)
- 1 Ferkin (fir; Ukrainian small barrel ) = 1/6 hogshead = 1/4 barrel = 1/2 kilderkin = 8-9 gallons = 36 quarts = 36.3-40.9 liters (dm)
- 1 imperial gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 32 Jills (Hill) = 160 fl. ounces = 4.546 liters (dm)
- 1 potli = 1/2 imp. gallons = 2 quarts = 2.27 liters (dm)
- 1 quart = 1/4 imp. gallons = 2 pints = 1.1365 liters (dm)
- Large bottles common in Europe and the UK (see champagne):
- 1 Melchizedek = 40 bottles = 30 liters
- 1 Primat = 36 bottles = 27 liters
- 1 Solomon = 25 liters
- 1 Melchior = 24 bottles = 18 liters
- 1 Nebuchadnezzar = 20 bottles = 15 liters
- 1 Balthazar = 16 bottles = 12 liters
- 1 Salmanazar = large wine bottle = 12 bottles = 9 liters
- 1 Methuselah = 8 bottles = 6 liters
- 1 Rehoboam = 6 bottles = 4.5 liters
- 1 Jeroboam (double Magnum bottle) = 4 bottles = 3 liters
- 1 Magnum (Magnum bottle) = 2 bottles = 1.5 liters
- 1 bottle of milk = 1 quart = 946.36 ml
- 1 bottle of whiskey = 1 five = 757.1 ml
- 1 bottle of champagne = 2/3 quarts = 630.91 ml (French champagne, 750 ml)
- 1 bottle of wine = 750 ml = 25.3605 fl oz
- 1 Bucket (ukr. ladle) Unofficial unit = 5 imp. gallons = 18.927 liters
- 1 fillet = 1/2 bottle of champagne = 375 ml
- 1 pint = 1/8 imp. gallons = 1/2 qt = 4 Jills (branches) = 20 Ridc Oz = 34.678 inches = 0.568261 L (dm)
- 1 Jill (Hill) = 1/4 pint = 5 fl. ounces = 8.670 inches = 0.142 liters (dm)
- 1 breakfast cup = 1/2 pint = 10 fl. ounces = 17.339 inches = 1.2 U.S. cups = 284 ml
- 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 4 fl. drachmas = 1/2 fluid ounce = 14.2 ml
- 1 teaspoon = 1/3 tablespoon = 1 1/3 fl. drachmas = 4.7 ml (from another source: = 1/8 fl. oz. = 3.55 ml (traditional), honey and kitchen = 5 ml)
- 1 must glass, glass = 16 fl. drachmas = 2 fl. oz = 56.8 ml according to other sources is equal to 2.5 fl. oz = 5 tablespoons = 1/2 Gill = 71 ml
- 1 oz liquid (floz)= 1/20 pint = 1/5 gill = 8 fl. drachmas = 24 fl. scruples = 1.733871 inches = 28.413063 ml (cm)
- 1 liquid drachma (1878 - February 1, 1971) = 3 liquid. scruples = 1/8 p. oz = 60 minimi = 0.96 US liquid drachmas = 0.216734 inches = 3.551633 ml
- 1 p. Scruple of pharmacies. (1878 - February 1, 1971) = 1/3 fl. drachmas = 1/24 fl. oz = 20 minimi = 19.2 US minimi = 1.18388 ml
- 1 min pharmacies. (1878 - February 1, 1971) = 1/60 fl. drachmas = 1/20 fl. scruple = 0.96 amer. minimum = 0.05919 ml
4.2. American system of measures for liquids
5. Measures of volume for bulk solids
5.1. British imperial system for bulk solids
5.2. American System of Measures for Bulk Solids
6. Pharmaceutical and Troy (for precious metals and stones) measures
Pharmaceutical and troy (for precious metals and stones) measures differ:
- The pharmaceutical system of weight measures was used in the field of pharmaceuticals, it used the pound, ounce, drachma, scruple, gran, minim;
- The coin (troy) system of weight measures is used by jewelers and in mint. Basic quantities - pound, ounce, pennyweight, carat, grain; this system is also used in the manufacture of ammunition
- The values of the British and American systems of measures are also different.
6.1. Pharmaceutical weight measures
British apothecary system of weight measures in the XV-XX centuries. used in the field of pharmaceuticals, it used the pound, ounce, drachma, scruple and grain. At the same time, the pharmaceutical values of the pound, ounce, drachma differed from the values of such a name for commercial use.
| Measures of weight (mass) | Measures for liquids | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 lb = 12 oz = 5760 grains = 373.24172 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 ounce (troy ounce) (uncia, oz) = 8 drachmas = 24 scruplesd = 480 grains = 31.1035 g | 1 fl oz = 8 fl. drachmas = 24 fl. scrupulous = 28.413 ml | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 drachma (dram) (before 1975) = 1/96 apothecary pound = 1/8 ounce = 3 scruplesb = 60 grains = 3.88794 g | 1 p. drachma (1878 - February 1, 1971) = 3 fl. scruples = 1/8 fl. oz = 60 minimi = 0.96 US liquid drachmas = 3.55163 ml | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 scrupulum = 1/3 drachma = 20 grains = 1.296 g | 1 p. Scruple (1878 - February 1, 1971) = 1/3 fl. drachmas = 1/24 fl. oz = 20 minimi = 19.2 US minimi = 1.18388 ml | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 grain (granum) (until 1985) = 1/20 scruple = 64.79891 mg | 1 min (1878 - February 1, 1971) = 1/60 fl. drachmas = 1/20 fl. scruple = 0.96 am. minimum = 0.05919 ml
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6.2. Coin (troy) system of measures of weight
The system is used by jewelers and in the mint. The basic quantities are the pound, ounce and pennyweight.
| Ounce | ||||||
| pennyweight | 20 |
|||||
| Gran | 24 | 480 |
||||
| Mayte | 20 | 480 | ||||
| Reach | 24 | 480 | ||||
| Periot | 20 | 480 | 9,600 | |||
| Blank | 24 | 480 | 11520 | 230400 | ||
| 0.000281245 mg | 0.00675 mg | 0.135 mg | 3.24 mg | 64.79891 mg | 1.555 g | 31.1035 g |
