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Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the post-1824 measures used in the British Empire and countries in the British sphere of influence. For the units used in England before 1824, see English units. For the system of weight, see Avoirdupois. For United States customary units, see Customary units. Imperial units or the imperial system is a system of units, first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824, later refined (until 1959) and reduced. The system came into official use across the British Empire. By the late 20th century most nations of the former empire had officially adopted the metric system as their main system of measurement.
Contents
[hide]
2.4 Mass 3.1 United Kingdom 3.2 Canada 3.3 Australia 3.4 Republic of Ireland 3.5 Other countries
[edit] Units
[edit] Length
Imperial standards of length 1876 in Trafalgar Square, London. Since 1959, the US and the British yard have been defined identically to be 0.9144 metres, to match the international yard.[citation needed] Metric equivalents in this article usually assume this latest official definition. Before this date, the most precise measurement of the Imperial Standard Yard was 0.914398416 metres.[1] Table of length equivalent units Unit Relative to previous Feet Millimetres Metres Notes
thou (th) inch (in) 1000 thous foot (ft) 12 inches yard 3 feet (yd)
12000
1
12 1 3
6.08 or 6[2]
1,853.184
0.000 025 25.4 m 4 0.025 4 0.3048 Defined as exactly 0.9144 metres 0.9144 since 1959 The British Admiralty in practice used a fathom as 6 feet. This was despite its being 11000 of a nautical mile (i.e. 6.08 feet) until the adoption of the international nautical mile. The commonly accepted definition of a fathom was always 6 feet. The 1.853184 conflict was inconsequential as Admiralty nautical charts designated depths shallower than 5 fathoms in feet on older imperial charts. Today all charts worldwide are metric, except for USA Hydrographic Office charts, which use feet for all depth ranges. 20.1168 201.168 1,609.344 4,828.032 No longer an official unit in any nation.
20116.8
Maritime units cable ~100 fathoms 608 185.3184 One tenth of a nautical mile. When in use it was approximated colloquially as 100 fathoms. nautical 10 cables 6,080 1,853.184 Used to measure distances at sea. mile Until the adoption of the international definition of 1852 metres in 1970, the British nautical (Admiralty) mile was defined as 6,080 feet. It was not readily expressible in terms of any of the intermediate units, because it was derived from the circumference of the Earth (like the original metre). Gunter's survey units (17th century onwards) 66 link 100 201.168 0.201168 7.92 inches 66 rod 25 links 4 5,029.2 5.0292 The rod is also called pole or perch. chain 4 poles 66 20.1168 110 furlong
[edit] Area
Area Relation Square Square Square Unit to units of Square metres Hectares feet rods miles length Notes
perch
1 rod 1 rod
272.25
102400
1 furlong 1 10,890 40 2560 1 rod[3] 1 furlong 1 acre 43,560 160 640 4,046.8564224 0.4047 1 chain Note: All equivalences are exact except the hectares, which are accurate to four significant figures. rood
Although the proper term is square rod, for centuries this unit has 25.29285264 0.002529 been called a pole or perch or, more properly square pole or square perch. The rood is also called a 1,011.7141056 0.1012 rod.[4][5]
[edit] Volume
In 1824, the United Kingdom adopted a close approximation to the ale gallon known as the imperial gallon. The imperial gallon was based on the volume of 10 lb of distilled water weighed in air with brass weights with the barometer standing at 30 in Hg at a temperature of 62 F. In 1963 this definition was refined as the space occupied by 10 lb of distilled water of density 0.998859 g/ml weighed in air of density 0.001217 g/ml against weights of density 8.136 g/ml. This works out to 4.545096 l, or 277.420 cu in. The Weights and Measures Act of 1985 switched to a gallon of exactly 4.54609 l (approximately 277.4 cu in).[6] Table of volume units Unit Imperial ounce Imperial pint Millilitres Cubic inches US ounces US pints fluid ounce 1 1 20 28.4130625 1.7339 0.96076 0.060047 (fl oz) 1 gill (gi) 5 4 142.0653125 8.6694 4.8038 0.30024 pint (pt) 20 1 568.26125 34.677 19.215 1.2009 quart (qt) 40 2 1,136.5225 69.355 38.430 2.4019 gallon (gal) 160 8 4,546.09 277.42 153.72 9.6076 Note: The millilitre equivalences are exact whereas the conversions to cubic-inch and US measures are correct to five significant figures. [edit] British apothecaries' volume measures Table of British apothecaries' volume units[7] Unit Previous Unit Metric Value minim ... 59.1938802 L fluid scruple 20 minims 1.1838776 mL fluid drachm 3 fluid scruples 3.5516328 mL
fluid ounce 8 fluid drachms 28.4130625 mL pint 20 fluid ounces 568.26125 mL gallon 8 pints 4.54609 L
[edit] Mass
In the 19th and 20th centuries the UK has used three different systems for mass and weight:[8]
troy weight, used for precious metals; avoirdupois weight, used for most other purposes; and apothecaries' weight, now virtually unused since the metric system is used for all scientific purposes.
The troy pound (373.2417216 g) was made the primary unit of mass by the 1824 Act; however, its use was abolished in the UK on 6 January 1879, making the Avoirdupois pound the primary unit of mass with only the troy ounce (31.1034768 g) and its decimal subdivisions retained. In all the systems, the fundamental unit is the pound, and all other units are defined as fractions or multiples of it. Table of mass units Unit Pounds Grams Kilograms Notes 1 grain (gr) 7000 0.06479891 Exactly 64.79891 milligrams. 1 drachm (drc) 256 1.7718451953125 1 ounce (oz) 16 28.349523125 Exactly 453.59237 grams by pound (lb) 1 453.59237 0.45359237 definition. A person's weight is often quoted in stone and pounds in English-speaking countries using the avoirdupois stone (st) 14 6,350.29318 6.35029318 system, with the exception of the United States and Canada, where it is usually quoted in pounds. A "quarter" was also commonly used quarter (qtr) 28 12.70058636 to refer to a quarter of a pound in a retail context. hundredweight 112 50.80234544 (cwt) 20 hundredweights in both systems, ton (t) 2240 1,016.0469088 US hundredweight being lighter. The British ton (the long ton) is 2240 pounds, which is very close to a metric tonne, whereas the ton generally used in the United States is the "short ton" of 2000 pounds (907.18474 kg). Each is divided into 20 hundredweights (cwt), the British hundredweight of 112 pounds being 12% heavier than the American hundredweight of 100 pounds.
A baby bottle that measures in three measurement systemsmetric, imperial (UK), and US customary.
entirely metric, and London Underground uses both metric (for distances) and imperial (for speeds).[citation needed] Metric is also used for the Channel Tunnel and on High Speed 1. Adjacent to Ashford International railway station and Dollands Moor Freight Yard, railway speeds are given in both metric and imperial units. The use of SI units is mandated by law for the retail sale of food and other commodities except beer, but many British people still use imperial units in colloquial discussion of distance (yards, feet and inches), weight (especially stones and pounds) and volume (gallons & pints).[12] Milk is available in both half-litre and pint containers. Most people still measure their weight in stone and pounds, and height in feet and inches (but these must be converted to metric if recorded officially, for example in medical records). Petrol is occasionally quoted as being so much per gallon, despite having been sold exclusively in litres for two decades. Likewise, fuel consumption for cars is still usually in miles per gallon, though official figures always include litres per 100 km equivalents. Fahrenheit equivalents are occasionally given after Celsius in weather forecasts, though this is becoming rare. Threads on non metric nuts and bolts etc., are sometimes referred to as Imperial, especially in the UK.
[edit] Canada
Main article: Canadian units See also: Metrication in Canada In the 1970s the metric system and SI units were introduced in Canada to replace the imperial system. Within the government, efforts to implement the metric system were extensive; almost any agency, institution, or function provided by the government uses SI units exclusively. Imperial units were eliminated from all road signs, although both systems of measurement will still be found on privately owned signs, such as the height warnings at the entrance of a multistorey parking facility. In the 1980s, momentum to fully convert to the metric system stalled when the government of Brian Mulroney was elected. There was heavy opposition to metrication and as a compromise the government maintains legal definitions for and allows use of imperial units as long as metric units are shown as well.[13][14][15][16] The law requires that measured products (such as fuel and meat) be priced in metric units, although an imperial price can be shown if a metric price is present.[17][18] However, there tends to be leniency in regards to fruits and vegetables being priced in imperial units only.[18] Environment Canada still offers an imperial unit option beside metric units, even though weather is typically measured and reported in metric units in the Canadian media. However, some radio stations near the United States border (such as CIMX and CIDR) primarily use imperial units to report the weather. Imperial units are still used in ordinary conversation. Few older Canadians would exclusively use SI units to describe their weight and height; newborns are measured in SI at hospitals, but the birth weight and length is usually announced to family and friends in imperial units. Although drivers' licences in some provinces like British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador use SI units, other provinces like Saskatchewan use imperial units.[19] In livestock auction markets, cattle are sold in dollars per hundredweight (short), whereas hogs are sold in dollars per hundred kilograms. Imperial units still dominate in recipes, construction, house renovation and gardening, although often informally. Land is now surveyed and registered in metric units, although initial surveys used imperial units. For example, partitioning of farm land on the prairies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was done in imperial units; this accounts for imperial units of distance and area retaining wide use in the Prairie Provinces. The size of most apartments, condominiums and houses continues to be described in square feet rather than square metres, and carpet or flooring tile is purchased by the
square foot. Motor-vehicle fuel consumption is reported in both litres per 100 km and statute miles per imperial gallon,[20] leading to the erroneous impression that Canadian vehicles are 20% more fuel-efficient than their apparently identical American counterparts for which fuel economy is reported in statute miles per U.S. gallon. (Neither country specifies which gallon is used.) Imperial units also retain common use in firearms and ammunition. Imperial measures are still used in the description of cartridge types, even when the cartridge is of relatively recent invention (e.g., 0.204 Ruger, 0.17 HMR, where the calibre is expressed in decimal fractions of an inch). However, ammunition which is classified in metric already is still kept metric (e.g., 9 mm). In the manufacture of ammunition, bullet and powder weights are expressed in terms of grains for both metric and imperial cartridges. As in most of the western world, air navigation is based on nautical units, e.g., the nautical mile, which is neither imperial nor metric.
[edit] Australia
Main article: Metrication in Australia In Australia, imperial measurements are still encountered in either spoken or written form. Most weight is in kilograms, but sometimes a newborn baby's weight may be quoted in pounds, [21] , and rural land areas are sometimes referred to in acres.[22] Australian beer glass sizes are based on older imperial sizes but rounded to the nearest 5 ml, while some surf reports are given in feet.[23]
petrol will be the litre and not the gallon. This in line with the UAE Cabinet Decision No. 31 of 2006 on the national system of measurement, which mandates the use of International System of units (SI) as a basis for the legal units of measurement in the country.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]