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WEIGHTS AND MEASURES UNITS

Unit Definition
Acoustic ohm Cgs unit of acoustic impedance (the ratio of sound pressure on a surface to
sound flux through the surface)
Acre Traditional English land measure; 1 acre = 4,840 sq yd (4,047 sq m or
0.4047 ha)
Acre-foot Unit sometimes used to measure large volumes of water such as reservoirs;
1 acre-foot = 1,233.5 cu m/43,560 cu ft
Astronomical unit Unit (symbol AU) equal to the mean distance of the earth from the sun:
149,597,870 km/92,955,808 mi
Atmosphere Unit of pressure (abbreviation atm); 1 standard atmosphere = 101,325 Pa
Barn Unit of area, especially the cross-sectional area of an atomic nucleus; 1
barn = 10-28 sq m
Barrel Unit of liquid capacity; the volume of a barrel depends on the liquid being
measured and the country and state laws. In the united states, 1 barrel of oil
= 42 gal (159 l/34.97 imperial gal), but for federal taxing of fermented liquor
(such as beer), 1 barrel = 31 gal (117.35 l/25.81 imperial gal). Many states
fix a 36-gallon barrel for cistern measurement and federal law uses a 40-
gallon barrel to measure 'proof spirits.' 1 barrel of beer in the uk = 163.66 l
(43.23 u.s. gal/36 imperial gal)
Base box Imperial unit of area used in metal plating; 1 base box = 20.232 sq
m/31,360 sq in
Baud Unit of electrical signaling speed equal to 1 pulse per second
Brewster Unit (symbol B) for measuring reaction of optical materials to stress
British thermal Imperial unit of heat (symbol Btu); 1 Btu = approximately 1,055 J
unit
Bushel Measure of dry and (in the UK) liquid volume. 1 bushel (struck measure) = 8
dry U.S. gallons (64 dry U.S. pt/35.239 l/2,150.42 cu in). 1 heaped U.S.
bushel = 1.278 bushels, struck measure (81.78 dry pt/45.027 l/2,747.715 cu
in), often referred to as 11/4 bushels, struck measure. In the UK, 1 bushel =
8 imperial gallons (64 imperial pt); 1 UK bushel = 1.03 U.S. bushels
Cable Unit of length used on ships, taken as 1/10 of a nautical mile (185.2
m/607.6 ft)
Calorie Cgs unit of heat, now replaced by the joule; 1 calorie = 4.1868 J
Carat Unit for measuring mass of precious stones; 1 carat = 0.2 g/0.00705 oz
Carat Unit of purity in gold; pure gold is 24-carat
Carcel Obsolete unit of luminous intensity
Cental Name for the short hundredweight; 1 cental = 45.36 kg/100 lb
Chaldron Obsolete unit measuring capacity; 1 chaldron = 1.309 cu m/46.237 cu ft
Clausius In engineering, a unit of entropy; defined as the ratio of energy to
temperature above absolute zero
Cleanliness unit Unit for measuring air pollution; equal to the number of particles greater
than 0.5 µm in diameter per cu ft of air
Clo Unit of thermal insulation of clothing; standard clothes have insulation of
about 1 clo, the warmest have about 4 clo per 2.5 cm/1 in of thickness
Clusec Unit for measuring the power of a vacuum pump
Condensation In physics, the ratio of the number of molecules condensing on a surface to
number the number of molecules touching that surface
Cord Unit for measuring the volume of wood cut for fuel; 1 cord = 3.62 cu m/128
cu ft, or a stack 2.4 m/8 ft long, 1.2 m/4 ft wide and 1.2 m/4 ft high
Crith Unit of mass for weighing gases; 1 crith = the mass of 1 liter of hydrogen
gas at standard temperature and pressure
Cubit Earliest known unit of length; 1 cubit = approximately 45.7 cm/18 in, the
length of the human forearm from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow
Curie Former unit of radioactivity (symbol Ci); 1 curie = 3.7 × 1010 becquerels
Dalton International atomic mass unit, equivalent to 1/12 of the mass of a neutral
carbon-12 atom
Darcy Cgs unit (symbol D) of permeability, used mainly in geology to describe the
permeability of rock
Darwin Unit of measurement of evolutionary rate of change
Decontamination Unit measuring the effectiveness of radiological decontamination; the ratio
factor of original contamination to the radiation remaining
Demal Unit measuring concentration; 1 demal = 1 gram-equivalent of solute in 1 cu
dm of solvent
Denier Unit used to measure the fineness of yarns; 9,000 m of 15 denier nylon
weighs 15 g/0.5 oz
Diopter Optical unit measuring the power of a lens; the reciprocal of the focal length
in meters
Dram Unit of apothecaries' measure; 1 dram = 60 grains/3.888 g
Dyne Cgs unit of force; 105 dynes = 1 N
Einstein unit Unit for measuring photoenergy in atomic physics
Eotvos unit Unit (symbol E) for measuring small changes in the intensity of the earth's
gravity with horizontal distance
Erg Cgs unit of work; equal to the work done by a force of 1 dyne moving
through 1 cm
Erlang Unit for measuring telephone traffic intensity; for example, 90 minutes of
carried traffic measured over 60 minutes = 1.5 erlangs ('carried traffic' refers
to the total duration of completed calls made within a specified period)
Fathom Unit of depth measurement in mining and seafaring; 1 fathom = 1.83 m/6 ft
Finsen unit Unit (symbol FU) for measuring intensity of ultraviolet light
Fluid ounce Measure of capacity; equivalent in the United States to 1/16 of a pint (1/20
of a pint in the UK and Canada)
Foot Imperial unit of length (symbol ft), equivalent to 0.3048 m
Foot-candle Unit of illuminance, replaced by the lux; 1 foot-candle = 10.76391 lux
Foot-pound Imperial unit of energy (symbol ft-lb); 1 ft-lb = 1.356 joule
Frigorie Unit (symbol fg) used in refrigeration engineering to measure heat energy,
equal to a rate of heat extraction of 1 kilocalorie per hour
Furlong Unit of measurement, originating in Anglo-Saxon England, equivalent to
201.168 m/220 yd
Galileo Unit (symbol Gal) of acceleration; 1 galileo = 10-2 m s-2
Gallon Imperial liquid or dry measure subdivided into 4 quarts or 8 pints; 1 U.S. gal
= 3.785 l; 1 imperial gal = 4.546 l
Gauss Cgs unit (symbol) of magnetic flux density, replaced by the tesla; 1 gauss =
1 × 10-4 tesla
Gill Imperial unit of volume for liquid measure; equal to 1/4 of a pint (in the
United States, 4 fl oz/0.118 l; in the UK, 5 fl oz/0.142 l)
Grain Smallest unit of mass in the three English systems of measurement
(avoirdupois, troy, apothecaries' weights) used in the United States and UK;
1 grain = 0.0648 g
Hand Unit used in measuring the height of a horse from front hoof to shoulder
(withers); 1 hand = 10.2 cm/4 in
Hardness number Unit measuring hardness of materials. There are many different hardness
scales: brinell , rockwell , and vickers scales measure the degree of
indentation or impression of materials; mohs ' scale measures resistance to
scratching against a standard set of minerals
Hartree Atomic unit of energy, equivalent to atomic unit of charge divided by atomic
unit of length; 1 hartree = 4.850 × 10-18 J
Haze factor Unit of visibility in mist or fog; the ratio of brightness of mist compared with
that of the object
Hehner number Unit measuring concentration of fatty acids in oils; a Hehner number of 1 =
1 kg of fatty acid in 100 kg of oil or fat
Hide Unit of measurement used in the 12th century to measure land; 1 hide = 60-
120 acres/25-50 ha
Horsepower Imperial unit (abbreviation hp) of power; 1 horsepower = 746 W
Hundredweight Imperial unit (abbreviation cwt) of mass; 1 cwt = 45.36 kg/100 lb in the
United States and 50.80 kg/112 lb in the UK
Inch Imperial unit (abbreviation in) of linear measure, 1/12 of a ft; 1 in = 2.54 cm
Inferno Unit used in astrophysics for describing the temperature inside a star; 1
inferno = 1 billion K (degrees Kelvin )
Iodine number Unit measuring the percentage of iodine absorbed in a substance,
expressed as grams of iodine absorbed by 100 grams of material
Jansky Unit used in radio astronomy to measure radio emissions or flux densities
from space; 1 jansky = 10-26 Wm-2 Hz-1. Flux density is the energy in a beam
of radiation which passes through an area normal to the beam in a single
unit of time. A jansky is a measurement of the energy received from a
cosmic radio source per unit area of detector in a single time unit
Kayser Unit used in spectroscopy to measure wave number (number of waves in a
unit length); a wavelength of 1.0 cm has a wave number of 1 kayser
Knot Unit used in navigation to measure a ship's speed; 1 knot = 1 nautical mile
per hour, or about 1.15 miles per hour
League Obsolete imperial unit of length; 1 league = 3 nautical mi/5.56 km or 3
statute mi/4.83 km
Light-year Unit used in astronomy to measure distance; the distance traveled by light
in one year, approximately 9.46 × 1012 km/5.88 × 1012 mi
Mache Obsolete unit of radioactive concentration; 1 mache = 3.7 × 10-7 curies of
radioactive material per cu m of a medium
Maxwell Cgs unit (symbol Mx) of magnetic flux, the strength of a magnetic field in an
area multiplied by the area. 1 maxwell = 10-8 weber
Megaton Measurement of the explosive power of a nuclear weapon; 1 megaton = 1
million tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT)
Mil (A) one-thousandth of a liter; contraction of the word milliliter; (b) imperial
measure of length, equal to one-thousandth of an inch; also known as the
thou
Mile Imperial unit of linear measure; 1 statute mile = 1.60934 km/5,280 ft, and 1
international nautical mile = 1.852 km/6,076 ft
Millimeter of Unit of pressure (symbol mmhg) used in medicine for measuring blood
mercury pressure
Morgan Arbitrary unit used in genetics; 1 morgan is the distance along the
chromosome in a gene that gives a recombination frequency of 1%
Nautical mile Unit of distance used in navigation, equal to the average length of 1 minute
of arc on a great circle of the earth; 1 international nautical mile =1.852
km/6,076 ft
Neper Unit used in telecommunications; gives the attenuation of amplitudes of
currents or powers as the natural logarithm of the ratio of the voltage
between two points or the current between two points
Oersted Cgs unit (symbol Oe) of magnetic field strength, now replaced by amperes
per meter (1 Oe = 79.58 amp per m)
Ounce Unit of mass, : of a pound avoirdupois, equal to 437.5 grains/28.35 g; or
14.6 pound troy, equal to 480 grains/31.10 g
Parsec Unit (symbol pc) used in astronomy for distances to stars and galaxies; 1 pc
= 3.262 light-years, 2.063 × 105 astronomical units, or 3.086 × 1013 km
Peck Obsolete unit of dry measure, equal to 8 imperial quarts or 1 quarter bushel
(8.1 l in the United States or 9.1 l in the UK)
Pennyweight Imperial unit of mass; 1 pennyweight = 24 grains = 1.555 × 10-3 kg
Perch Obsolete imperial unit of length; 1 perch = 51/2 yards = 5.029 m, also called
the rod or pole
Pint Imperial unit of liquid or dry measure; in the United States, 1 liquid pint = 16
fl oz/0.473 l, while 1 dry pint = 0.551 l; in the UK, 1 pt =20 fl oz, 1/2 quart,
1/8 gal, or 0.568 l
Point Metric unit of mass used in relation to gemstones; 1 point = 0.01 metric
carat = 2 × 10-3 g
Poise Cgs unit of dynamic viscosity; 1 poise = 1 dyne-second per sq cm
Pound Imperial unit (abbreviation lb) of mass; the avoirdupois pound or imperial
standard pound = 0.45 kg/7,000 grains, while the pound troy (used for
weighing precious metals) = 0.37 kg/5,760 grains
Poundal Imperial unit (abbreviation pdl) of force; 1 poundal = 0.1383 newton
Quart Imperial liquid or dry measure; in the United States, 1 liquid quart = 0.946 l,
while 1 dry quart = 1.101 l; in the UK, 1 quart =2 pt/1.137 l
Rad Unit of absorbed radiation dose, replaced in the SI system by the gray; 1
rad = 0.01 joule of radiation absorbed by 1 kg of matter
Relative biological Relative damage caused to living tissue by different types of radiation
effectiveness
Rood Imperial unit of area; 1 rood =1/4 acre = 1,011.7 sq m
Roentgen Unit (symbol R) of radiation exposure, used for X- and gamma rays
Rydberg Atomic unit of energy; 1 rydberg = 2.425 × 10-18 J
Sabin Unit of sound absorption, used in acoustical engineering; 1 sabin =
absorption of 1 sq ft (0.093 sq m) of a perfectly absorbing surface
Scruple Imperial unit of apothecaries' measure; 1 scruple = 20 grains = 1.3 × 10-3 kg
Shackle Unit of length used at sea for measuring cable or chain; 1 shackle = 15
fathoms (90 ft/27 m)
Slug Obsolete imperial unit of mass; 1 slug = 14.59 kg/32.17 lb
Snellen Unit expressing the visual power of the eye
Sone Unit of subjective loudness
Standard volume In physics, the volume occupied by 1 kilogram molecule (molecular mass in
kilograms) of any gas at standard temperature and pressure; approximately
22.414 cu m
Stokes Cgs unit (symbol St) of kinematic viscosity; 1 stokes = 10-4 m2 s-1
Stone Imperial unit (abbreviation st) of mass; 1 stone = 6.35 kg/14 lb
Strontium unit Measures concentration of strontium-90 in an organic medium relative to
the concentration of calcium
Tex Metric unit of line density; 1 tex is the line density of a thread with a mass of
1 gram and a length of 1 kilometer
Tog Measure of thermal insulation of a fabric, garment, or quilt; the tog value is
equivalent to 10 times the temperature difference (in °C) between the two
faces of the article, when the flow of heat across it is equal to 1 W per sq m
Ton 1 unit of mass; the long ton ( UK ) = 1,016 kg/2,240 lb; 1 short ton (United
States) = 907 kg/2,000 lb; 1 metric ton = 1000 kg/2205 lb
Yard Imperial unit (symbol yd) of length, equivalent to 0.9144 m/3 ft

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