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The values of these units are based on Jefferson's proposal of a foot that was equal in length to one-fifth of a second rod, one fourth of an inch shorter than the foot in use at the time, and approximately equal to 0.298461684 m. [5] For the mass units, the ounce as a base would equal the weight of a cubic inch of pure water at standard ...
Another difference arose when Britain abolished the troy pound (373.241 7216 g) on 1 January 1879, leaving only the troy ounce (31.103 4768 g) and its decimal subdivisions, whereas the troy pound (of 12 troy ounces) and pennyweight are still legal in the United States, although they are no longer widely used.
At small scales the basic unit is the gram (or fractions thereof), but for larger orders fractions of ounces and pounds are used. Informally 1 ⁄ 8 ounce is often defined in turn as 3.5 grams (an approximate 1.25% rounding error) and referred to simply as "an eighth". [77]
See Weight for detail of mass/weight distinction and conversion. Avoirdupois is a system of mass based on a pound of 16 ounces, while Troy weight is the system of mass where 12 troy ounces equals one troy pound. The symbol g 0 is used to denote standard gravity in order to avoid confusion with the (upright) g symbol for gram.
Troy weight, avoirdupois weight, and apothecaries' weight are all built from the same basic unit, the grain, which is the same in all three systems. However, while each system has some overlap in the names of their units of measure (all have ounces and pounds), the relationship between the grain and these other units within each system varies.
The apothecaries and troy pounds are divided into 12 ounces (of 480 grains) while the avoirdupois pound has 16 ounces (of 437.5 grains). The unit of volume, the gallon, has different values in the United States and in the United Kingdom – the US fluid gallon being about 0.83 imperial gallons and the US dry gallon being about 0.97 imperial ...
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Merchants/Mercantile pound 15 oz tower = 6750 gr ≈ 437.4 g London/Mercantile pound 15 oz troy = 16 oz tower = 7200 gr ≈ 466.6 g Mercantile stone 12 lb L ≈ 5.6 kg Butcher's stone 8 lb ≈ 3.63 kg Sack 26 st = 364 lb ≈ 165 kg The carat was once specified as four grains in the English-speaking world.