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A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to 6 feet (1.8288 m), used especially for measuring the depth of water. [1] The fathom is neither an international standard (SI) unit, nor an internationally accepted non-SI unit.
Fathom: Length: Knot: Speed: League: Length: Nautical mile: Length: Rhumb: Angle: The angle between two successive points of the thirty-two point compass (11 degrees 15 minutes) (rare) [1] Shackle: Length: Before 1949, 12.5 fathoms; later 15 fathoms. [2] Toise: Length: Toise was also used for measures of area and volume Twenty-foot equivalent ...
The first practical fathometer (literally "fathom measurer"), which determined water depth by measuring the time required for an echo to return from a high-pitched sound sent through the water and reflected from the sea floor, was invented by Herbert Grove Dorsey and patented in 1928. [10]
[a] Originally defined as the volume of 10 pounds (4.54 kg) of distilled water (under certain conditions), [b] then redefined by the Weights and Measures Act 1985 to be exactly 4.546 09 L (277.4 cu in), the imperial gallon is close in size to the old ale gallon.
Bathymetry (/ b ə ˈ θ ɪ m ə t r i /; from Ancient Greek βαθύς (bathús) 'deep' and μέτρον (métron) 'measure') [1] [2] is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors (seabed topography), lake floors, or river floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography.
Water metering is the practice of measuring water use. Water meters measure the volume of water used by residential and commercial building units that are supplied with water by a public water supply system. They are also used to determine flow through a particular portion of the system.
A bathometer (also bathymeter) is an instrument for measuring water depth. [1] [2] It was previously used mainly in oceanographical studies, but is rarely employed nowadays. The term originates from Greek βαθύς (bathys), "deep" and μέτρον (métron), "measure".
A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. [2] [3] [4] Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( 1 / 60 of a degree) of latitude at the equator, so that Earth's polar circumference is very near to 21,600 nautical miles (that is 60 minutes × 360 degrees).