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A Dictionary of Units of Measurement(uploader's note: if you wish to use the dictionary withall links activated, please, go to the following homepage:http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/)
For information on a specific unit, click on the first letter of its name:
Answers to the three most frequently asked questions:
How many micrograms (µg, ug or mcg) in a milligram (mg)?
1000 micrograms = 1 milligram, and 1000 milligrams = 1 gram.
How can I convert from international units (IU) to milligrams or micrograms?
Generally speaking, you can't. IU's measure the potency of a drug, not its mass or weight.
What countries besides the U.S. have not adopted the metric system?
Many U.S. teachers think the answer is "Liberia and Burma" (make that Myanmar). Let'sgive Liberia and Myanmar a break!
All
countries have adopted the metric system,including the U.S., and most countries (but not the U.S.) have taken steps to eliminatemost uses of traditional measurements. However, in nearly all countries people still usetraditional units sometimes, at least in colloquial expressions. Becoming metric is not aone-time event that has either happened or not. It is a process that happens over time.Every country is somewhere in this process of going metric, some much further alongthan others.
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Introduction
Americans probably use a greater variety of units of measurement than anyone else in theworld. Caught in a slow-moving transition from customary to metric units, we employ afascinating and sometimes frustrating mixture of units in talking about the same things.We measure the length of a race in meters, but the length of the long jump event in feetand inches. We speak of an engine's power in horsepower and its displacement in liters.In the same dispatch, we describe a hurricane's wind speed in knots and its central pressure in millibars.Furthermore, our English customary unitsdo not form a consistent system. Reflectingtheir diverse roots in Celtic, Roman, Saxon, and Norse cultures, they are often confusing
and contradictory. There are two systems for land measurement (one based on the yardand the other on the rod) and a third system for distances at sea. There are two systems(avoirdupois and troy) for small weights and two more (based on the long and short tons)for large weights. Americans use two systems for volumes (one for dry commodities andone for liquids) and the British use a third (British Imperial Measure).Meanwhile, only a few Americans know that the legal definitions of the Englishcustomary units are actually based on metric units. The U. S. and British governmentshave agreed that a yard equals exactly 0.9144 meter and an avoirdupois pound equalsexactly 0.453 592 37 kilograms. In this way, all the units of measurement Americans useevery day are based on the standards of the metric system. Since 1875, in fact, the United
States has subscribed to theInternational System of Weights and Measures, the officialversion of the metric system.This dictionary began as a collection of notes describing the relationship between variousEnglish and metric units. It gradually grew until it finally became too large a word- processing document; I couldn't find my way around in it any more. So I turned it into afolder of html documents and added it to my Internet site. For many months, no onelooked at the site except me and my students. Then, gradually, the dictionary began toattract users from around the world. Many users were kind enough to point out errors;others suggested additions and improvements. Questions about units began to appear inmy email inbox. Sometimes I could answer the questions, sometimes not.Today the dictionary has become a kind of interactive resource. It grows slowly andsteadily, mostly through suggestions from readers and my efforts to answer questions posed by readers. You can participate in this process! Please let me knowif you find any
errors on the site, or if you can't find what you wanted to know, or if you know of unitsused in your field of study or in your part of the world that aren't included.I hope you find the dictionary useful and informative.
Formalities
Written by:
Russ Rowlett, Director,Center for Mathematics and Science EducationUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
You are welcome toemail the author (rowlett@email.unc.edu) with comments andsuggestions.All material in this folder is copyright © 2005 by Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Permission is granted for personal use and for use byindividual teachers in conducting their own classes. All other rights reserved. You arewelcome to make links to this or any page of the dictionary.
Please do not copy the
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