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Imperial units were mostly used in the former British Empire and the British Commonwealth, but in all these countries they have been largely supplanted by the metric system. They are still used for some applications in the United Kingdom but have been mostly replaced by the metric system in commercial, scientific, and industrial applications.
World map, colour-coded to show the years the countries started the process of official conversion to the metric system. Using data from PhD thesis by Hector Vera and NIST. Metrication or metrification is the act or process of converting to the metric system of measurement. [1]
The table of imperial avoirdupois mass is the same as the United States table up to one pound, but above that point, the tables differ. The imperial system has a hundredweight, defined as eight stone of 14 lb each, or 112 lb (50.802 345 44 kg), whereas a US hundredweight is 100 lb (45.359 237 kg). In both systems, 20 hundredweights make a ton.
The origins of the customary units of measurement in South Asia are varied. As in Europe, there were various local systems of everyday measurements of length , mass and dry volume (the latter being a de facto measure of mass for many staple grains), while gold , pearls and gemstones were weighed on a different, slightly more standardized scale.
Upon its advice, the Imperial Diet established the metric system as Japan's legal standard, effective 1 July 1924, [6] with use of the other systems permitted as a transitional measure. [4] The government and "leading industries" were to convert within the next decade, with others following in the decade after that. [7]
The International System of Units is the modern metric system. It is based on the metre–kilogram–second–ampere (MKSA) system of units from early in the 20th century. [20] It also includes numerous coherent derived units for common quantities like power (watt) and irradience (lumen).
The International System of Units, or SI, [1]: 123 is a decimal and metric system of units established in 1960 and periodically updated since then. The SI has an official status in most countries, including the United States , Canada , and the United Kingdom , although these three countries are among the handful of nations that, to various ...
In 1976 the Hong Kong Metrication Ordinance allowed a gradual replacement of the system in favor of the International System of Units (SI) metric system. [6] The Weights and Measures Ordinance defines the metric, Imperial, and Chinese units. [7] As of 2012, all three systems are legal for trade and are in widespread use.