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Metric system conversion and converter for imperial/metric conversionsIt is not difficult to find a metric converter on-line. However, when doing conversions to and from metric, it is necessary to understand a bit about the metric system in order to do accurate conversions. A detailed explanation is provided at: Metric System Conversion and Conversions Chart / Table.However, here is a quick summary of the key points. Firstly, one must understand that there are two other measurement systems: Imperial and USA. These systems are very different and a given measure (e.g. gallon) can be bigger in one than in the other. Another point to consider is that the metric system uses different measures and in the case of weight there can be problems with metric conversions (due to the metric system not having a weight measure). Following, one should be aware of the common conversion errors. All of these points are discussed below. Imperial and USA systemsThe Imperial measurement system developed in the UK and spread to its colonies (thus the name: Imperial). As the colonies gained independence, they generally continued to use this system without many changes, with the major exception being the USA. From the point that the USA declared its independence, its measurement system started to diverge from the Imperial system. Over time, the differences increased until part way through the 20th century. Since them the pressures of globalisation and metric dominance have resulting in the UK and USA working together on evolving to common measures. However, this is only partly complete. Currently there are a number of measures that exist in one or the other system but not both. Furthermore, there are a number of measures which have different values in the two systems. For example, an Imperial gallon is larger than a USA gallon and an Imperial ton is larger than a USA ton. Therefore, if one does conversion to or from metric without specifying for which system (Imperial or USA), the result may be incorrect. This is fully explained in: Imperial and USA MeasurementsMetric system + conversion table / chartThe metric system is relatively simple. It consists of only 7 measurements, plus combinations of them. All measurements are a multiple of 10, so conversions in the metric system between larger and smaller units are merely a matter of moving the decimal point to the left or the right. Conversions to and from the Imperial (or USA) systems are not difficult and many sites offer a converter to do this (often with a conversion table or conversion chart). However, there are a few points to keep in mind. For example, 'weight' doesn't exist in the metric system as it uses 'mass' instead. Normally this is not an issue but for scientific measurements it can be important. For example, something with a mass of 50kg (110 pounds) on Earth has a mass of 100kg on the moon but under 20 pounds. For an explanation of the various measures and their importance click on Metric System and Conversion.Common Metric Converter ErrorsThere are a number of common conversion errors. Some of these are related to the USA and Imperial systems being confused, without due consideration of the differences between them. In particular, there are many on-line converters that have conversions only for the USA system but are used for Imperial conversions (few converters warn about this possible error). The opposite also happens (Imperial system used for USA conversions). Therefore one should use a converter that considers both systems and clearly notes where they have different values.There are also a lot of issues with smaller measures (e.g. cup, tablespoon). Not only are these measures different between the USA and Imperial system, there are also many different definitions of these values within a given system. For example an Imperial cup in the UK may not be the same size as an Imperial cup in Canada or Australia. An explanation of such common issues is explained in: Common Conversion Errors. As many of these errors are related to cooking, there is a specialised discussion in Cooking Conversion. Conversion Table and Conversion ChartWhen using a conversion table or a conversion chart, one must keep in mind the same items as for an on-line converter (see above discussion). In addition, there is also the consideration that the figures in a chart or table are often rounded off for simplicity, so are not completely accurate. At Metric Conversion Table and Chart there are tables which take these considerations into account in order to minimise risk of error. |
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