Imperial
Measurement Units
What
are Imperial Units?
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Measures of weight and mass
More on
imperial measurement units... Among other differences between the customary British and the United
States measurement systems, we should note that they abolished the use
of the troy pound in England January 6, 1879, they retained only the
troy ounce and its subdivisions, whereas the troy pound is still legal
in the United States, although it is not now greatly used.
We can mention again the
common use, for body weight, in England of the stone of 14 pounds,
this being a unit now unused in the United States, although its
influence was shown in the practice until World War II of selling
flour by the barrel of 196 pounds (14 stone).
In the apothecary system
of liquid measure the British add a unit, the fluid scruple, equal to
one third of a fluid drachm (spelled dram in the United States)
between their minim and their fluid drachm.
In Great Britain, the yard, the avoirdupois pound, the troy pound, and
the apothecaries pound are identical with the units of the same names
used in the United States. The tables of British linear measure,
troy mass, and apothecaries mass are the same as the corresponding
United States tables, except for the British spelling "drachm" in the
table of apothecaries mass. The table of British avoirdupois mass is
the same as the United States table up to 1 pound; above that point
the table reads:
14 pounds = 1 stone
2 stones = 1 quarter = 28 pounds
4 quarters = 1 hundredweight = 112 pounds
20 hundredweight = 1 ton = 2240 pounds
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The present British
gallon and bushel - known as the "Imperial gallon" and "Imperial
bushel" - are, respectively, about 20 percent and 3 percent larger
than the United States gallon and bushel. The Imperial gallon is
defined as the volume of 10 avoirdupois pounds of water under
specified conditions, and the Imperial bushel is defined as 8 Imperial
gallons. Also, the subdivision of the Imperial gallon as
presented in the table of British apothecaries fluid measure differs
in two important respects from the corresponding United States
subdivision, in that the Imperial gallon is divided into 160 fluid
ounces (whereas the United States gallon is divided into 128 fluid
ounces), and a "fluid scruple" is included.
The full table of
British measures of capacity (which are used alike for liquid and for
dry commodities) is as follows:
4 gills = 1 pint
2 pints = 1 quart
4 quarts = 1 gallon
2 gallons = 1 peck
8 gallons (4 pecks) = 1 bushel
8 bushels = 1 quarter
The full table of British apothecaries measure is as follows:
20 minims = 1 fluid scruple
3 fluid scruples = 1 fluid drachm = 60 minims
8 fluid drachms = 1 fluid ounce
20 fluid ounces = 1 pint
8 pints = 1 gallon (160 fluid ounces)
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