jeff@rtech.UUCP (Jeff Lichtman) (10/14/85)
Several days ago I asked whether anyone was confused by English units,
and whether I should post a conversion table. I have received several "yesses",
so here goes.
Let me point out that, although England has gone over to the metric
system, the old system of measurement is still called "English" here in the
United States. There is another system called "Imperial", which is similar to
the English system: all Imperial units are 1.2 times larger than their English
counterparts (e.g. an Imperial gallon is 1.2 normal gallons).
The table below only includes those measurements which are commonly
used in cooking. For example, I didn't bother including the mile, since I've
never seen a recipe that called for a mile's worth of anything. Nor did I
include some oddball measurements such as drams, rods, hands, etc. (I've never
seen these used anywhere; they are sometimes shown in conversion tables to
convince people that the English system of measurement is incredibly baroque
and illogical, which is true enough even without these peculiarities).
Everyone should know about the UNIX(tm) program "units", which knows
about the relative sizes of all sorts of units of measurement, and can give
the multiplying and dividing factors to convert from one unit to another.
Someone asked me to include conversions for things like sticks of
butter, and other common package sizes. I don't have the time or cultural
experience to do this. Sorry.
Finally, I apologize to my Canadian neighbors for forgetting that they
also use the metric system.
--------------------
Length
English Unit Abbreviation Number of Metric
Previous Units* Equivalent (cm)
inch in. or '' 2.54
foot ft. or ' 12 30.5
yard yd. 3 91.4
*for example, a foot is 12 inches
--------------------
Volume
English Unit Abbreviation Number of Metric
Previous Units Equivalent (ml)
teaspoon tsp. 4.9
tablespoon Tbsp. 3 15
fluid ounce oz. or fl. oz. 2 30
cup c. 8 237
pint pt. 2 473
quart qt. 2 946 (about a liter)
gallon gal. 4 3785
fifth 0.2 (fifth of a gallon) 757 (about 3/4 liter)
--------------------
Mass (or weight)
English Unit Abbreviation Number of Metric
Previous Units Equivalent (gr)
ounce oz. 28
pound lb. 16 453
--------------------
Temperature
To convert from degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Celsius, use the following
formula:
C = (F - 32) * 5 / 9
where F is degrees Fahrenheit and C is degrees Celsius.
--------------------
If I've left anything out, please let me know.
--
Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.)
"Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent..."
{amdahl, sun}!rtech!jeff
{ucbvax, decvax}!mtxinu!rtech!jefftjsmedley@watmum.UUCP (Trevor J. Smedley) (10/15/85)
In article <694@rtech.UUCP> jeff@rtech.UUCP (Jeff Lichtman) writes: > > Let me point out that, although England has gone over to the metric >system, the old system of measurement is still called "English" here in the >United States. There is another system called "Imperial", which is similar to >the English system: all Imperial units are 1.2 times larger than their English >counterparts (e.g. an Imperial gallon is 1.2 normal gallons). ?????? Let's get this straight; Imperial system: The system that was used in the United Kingdom, Canada, and probably most of the Commonwealth and a lot of other places for a long time, and still is used to a great extent (even though we are "metric"). This is often called the "English" system here in Canada. American system: This is the one used in the United States (and maybe a few banana republics :-). Some things are smaller than their "Imperial" counterparts. Be careful with the conversions given. If it's from a Canadian or British cook book (things which are largely still in Imperial units) the conversions will be wrong. Also, anything crossing the border will have to be converted from Imperial to American, or the other way around. Maybe someone should provide an American-Imperial-Metric conversion? (did I just volunteer?? What have I gotten mysely into here?) Trevor J. Smedley
suze@terak.UUCP (Suzanne Barnett) (10/22/85)
Thanks for the chart, Jeff. Two additional abbreviation alternatives which are frequently used. > > Volume > > English Unit Abbreviation Number of Metric > Previous Units Equivalent (ml) > > teaspoon tsp. 4.9 or t. > > tablespoon Tbsp. 3 15 or T. -- Suzanne Barnett-Scott uucp: ...{decvax,ihnp4,noao,savax,seismo}!terak!suze phone: (602) 998-4800 us mail: CalComp/Sanders Display Products Division (Formerly Terak Corporation) 14151 N 76th street, Scottsdale, AZ 85260