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During that time the metric system had undergone a number of changes, particularly in science and engineering. Some industries were based on the CGS variant of the metric system and other on the MKS variant. In 1960, the CGPM published the International System of Units (SI), a coherent version of the metric system based on the MKS variant ...
Conversions between units in the metric system are defined by their prefixes (for example, 1 kilogram = 1000 grams, 1 milligram = 0.001 grams) and are thus not listed in this article. Exceptions are made if the unit is commonly known by another name (for example, 1 micron = 10 −6 metre).
Traditional Burmese units of measurement are used in Burma, with partial transition to the metric system. U.S. units are used in limited contexts in Canada due to the large volume of trade with the U.S. There is also considerable use of imperial weights and measures, despite de jure Canadian conversion to metric.
In 1866, the U.S. Congress passed a law that allowed, but did not require, the use of the metric system in trade and commerce. Included in the law was a table of conversion factors between the customary (i.e. English-derived) and metric units, among them a definition of the meter in terms of the yard, and the kilogram in terms of the pound.
James Clerk Maxwell played a major role in developing the concept of a coherent CGS system and in extending the metric system to include electrical units. Each variant of the metric system has a degree of coherence—the derived units are directly related to the base units without the need for intermediate conversion factors. [18]
Conversion of units is the conversion of the unit of measurement in which a quantity is expressed, typically through a multiplicative conversion factor that changes the unit without changing the quantity. This is also often loosely taken to include replacement of a quantity with a corresponding quantity that describes the same physical property.
Metrication is the act or process of converting to the metric system of measurement. The United Kingdom, through voluntary and mandated laws, has metricated most of government, industry, commerce, and scientific research to the metric system; however, the previous measurement system (Imperial units) is still used in society. Imperial units as ...
The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 is an Act of Congress that was signed into law by U.S. President Gerald Ford on December 23, 1975. [1] It declared the metric system "the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce", but permitted the use of United States customary units in all activities.