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Documents for "Weights and Measures":

• acre measure of land area used in the English units of measurement. The acre was originally the area a yoke of oxen could plow in a day and therefore differed in size from one locality to another. It is now fixed as 10 square chains or 160 square rods, i.e., 4,840...

• apothecaries weight see English units of measurement.

• avoirdupois weights see English units of measurement.

• barrel see English units of measurement.

• British Imperial System of weights and measures see English units of measurement.

• bushel see English units of measurement.

• candela in weights and measures: see candle.

• centigrade temperature scale see Celsius temperature scale.

• centimeter abbr. cm, unit of length equal to 0.01 meter , the basic unit of length in the metric system. The centimeter is the unit of length in the cgs system. It is approximately equal to 0.39 inch, or...

• cgs system system of units of measurement based on the metric system and having the centimeter of length, the gram of mass, and the second of time as its fundamental units. Other cgs units are the dyne...

• Common Weights and Measures Common Weights and Measures

• dram see English units of measurement.

• electric and magnetic units units used to express the magnitudes of various quantities in electricity and magnetism. Three systems of such units, all based on the metric system , are commonly used. One of these, the mksa-practical system, is defined in terms of the units of the mks system and has the ampere of electric current as its basic unit. The units of this system—the volt, ohm, watt, and farad—are those commonly used by scientists and engineers to make practical measurements. The two other...

• English units of measurement principal system of weights and measures used in a few nations, the only major industrial one being the United States. It actually consists of two related systems—the U.S. Customary System of units, used in the United States and...

• foot see English units of measurement.

• furlong see English units of measurement.

• gallon see English units of measurement.

• gill in weights and measures: see English units of measurement.

• grain in weights and measures: see English units of measurement.

• gram abbr. g, unit of mass equal to 0.001 kilogram , the basic unit of mass in the metric system. The gram is the unit of mass in the cgs system. It is approximately equal to 0.035 avoirdupois ounce,...

• hectare abbr. ha, unit of area in the metric system , equal to 10,000 sq m, or about 2.47 acres.

• inch see English units of measurement.

• International System of Units officially called the Système International d'Unités, or SI, system of units adopted by the 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures (1960). It is based on the metric system. The...

• kelvin abbr. K, official name in the International System of Units (SI) for the degree of temperature as measured on the Kelvin temperature scale.

• kilogram abbr. kg, fundamental unit of mass in the metric system , defined as the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram, a platinum-iridium cylinder kept at Sèvres, France, near Paris. Copies of this standard are deposited at bureaus of standards...

• kilowatt see watt.

• liter abbr. l, unit of volume in the metric system , defined since 1964 as equal to 0.001 cubic meters, or 1 cubic decimeter. A cube that has each of its edges equal to 10 centimeters has a volume of 1 liter. The liter is equal to 1.057 liquid...

• measurement determination of the magnitude of a quantity by comparison with a standard for that quantity. Quantities frequently measured include time, length, area, volume, pressure, mass, force, and energy...

• measures see weights and measures.

• meter abbr. m, fundamental unit of length in the metric system. The meter was originally defined as 1/10,000,000 of the distance between the equator and either pole; however, the original survey was inaccurate and the meter was later defined simply as the...

• metric system system of weights and measures planned in France and adopted there in 1799; it has since been adopted by most of the technologically developed countries of the world. It is based on a unit of length,...

• micron see micrometer.

• mile see English units of measurement.

• mks system system of units of measurement based on the metric system and having the meter of length, the kilogram of mass, and the second of time as its fundamental units. Other mks units include the newton...

• ounce see English units of measurement.

• peck see English units of measurement.

• pennyweight see English units of measurement.

• pint see English units of measurement.

• pound abbr. lb, unit of either mass or force in the customary system of English units of measurement. Two different pounds of mass are defined, one in the avoirdupois system of units and one in the Troy system. The avoirdupois pound (lb avdp) is now defined in terms of the kilogram , the metric unit of mass; 1 lb avdp is equal to 0.45359237 kg. The Troy pound is used only for the measurement of precious metals and is defined as 5760/7000 of the avoirdupois pound. The...

• pound-foot see foot-pound.

• Prefixes for Basic Metric Units Prefixes for Basic Metric Units

• quart see English units of measurement.

• rod see English units of measurement.

• scale in weights and measures, instruments for determining weight, generally for other than laboratory use. For the principles of operation of all weighing devices, see balance. Platform scales utilize a succession of multiplying levers that transmit the weight to a beam or other registration device. They are used where massive objects or large quantities are to be...

• scruple see English units of measurement.

• second abbr. sec or s, fundamental unit of time in all systems of measurement. In practical terms, the second is 1/60 of a minute, 1/3,600 of an hour, or 1/86,400 of a day. Since the length of the day varies, however, the second must be defined in more precise terms. For many years it was defined as 1/86,400 of the mean solar day (see solar time ), thus eliminating seasonal variations. Because the rotation of the earth itself is not constant, the second was redefined (1956) in terms of ephemeris time (ET), which is calculated from the...

• SI see International System of Units.

• stone in weights and measures: see English units of measurement.

• Système International d'Unités (SI): see International System of Units.

• thermal unit see British thermal unit.

• ton see English units of measurement.

• troy weights see English units of measurement.

• U.S. Customary System of weights and measures see English units of measurement.

• watt [for James Watt ], abbr. W, unit of power, or work done per unit time, equal to 1 joule per second. It is used as a measure of electrical and mechanical power. One watt is the amount of power that is delivered to a...

• weights and measures units and standards for expressing the amount of some quantity, such as length, capacity, or weight; the science of measurement standards and methods is known as metrology. ...

• yard abbr. yd, basic unit of length in the customary system of English units of measurement ; all other units in the English system, such as the inch, foot, rod, and mile, are derived from it. Since 1893 the yard has been defined in terms of the meter , the basic unit of length in the metric system. For a long time the yard was held to equal 3600/3937 of a meter; it has since been recalculated so that 1 yd equals 0.9144 m. In the United States results of geodetic surveys are still expressed...