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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.
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).
unit code (other) symbol or abbrev. notes conversion factor/m combinations SI: gigametre: Gm Gm US spelling: gigameter: 1.0 Gm (620,000 mi) megametre: Mm Mm US spelling: megameter: 1.0 Mm (620 mi) kilometre: km km US spelling: kilometer: 1.0 km (0.62 mi) km mi; hectometre: hm hm US spelling: hectometer: 1.0 hm (330 ft) decametre: dam dam US ...
The table below lists units supported by {{convert}}. More complete lists are linked for each dimension. For a complete list of all dimensions, see full list of units. {{Convert}} uses unit-codes, which are similar to, but not necessarily exactly the same as, the usual written abbreviation for a given unit. These unit-codes are displayed in ...
An input unit can be converted to any number of output units—the outputs are specified as a "combination" by separating unit codes with a space (" ") or a plus ("+"). Using a space as a separator does not work if any of the unit codes contains a space.
The conversion between different SI units for one and the same physical quantity is always through a power of ten. This is why the SI (and metric systems more generally) are called decimal systems of measurement units. [10] The grouping formed by a prefix symbol attached to a unit symbol (e.g. ' km ', ' cm ') constitutes a new inseparable unit ...
By default, the output value is rounded to adjust its precision to match that of the input. An input such as 1234 is interpreted as 1234 ± 0.5, while 1200 is interpreted as 1200 ± 50, and the output value is displayed accordingly, taking into account the scale factor used in the conversion.
The United States adopted the conversion factor 1 metre = 39.37 inches by an act in 1866. [30] In 1893, Mendenhall ordered the physical realization of the inch to be based on the international prototype metres numbers 21 and 27, which had been received from the CGPM, together with the previously adopted conversion factor. [31]