Probably everyone has heard of the English measure of weights. It is not surprising that once it was used by many countries of the world. Yes, and Russian measures were often not very different from her, like many European ones, although there were differences. But today, not everyone knows about them, not to mention how much a pound weighs or how many grains per gram. Therefore, to talk about this will be very useful.
Where is it used
It would seem that everything is simple - the English measure of weights should be used in England or Great Britain. But many will be surprised that this is not so. Just the whole of Great Britain officially abandoned the system, which is considered obsolete, back in 1995. However, in many places they are not going to get used to a simpler and more convenient system, preferring to use the usual measures of weight that ancestors used for many generations.
But nevertheless, in some countries, mainly those that were once colonies of England, the English system of measures has been preserved, and they are not going to abandon it.
The largest conservative country, which is not going to switch to the metric system, which is used by almost the whole world, is, of course, the United States. You can’t ask for a kilogram of meat or a liter of juice in the store. You have to order two and a quarter pounds of meat or two pints of the drink.
But the USA is not the only country where these weight measures have not become a relic of the past and are officially supported by the state. It also includes Liberia and Myanmar. The second was once a colony of Great Britain. And the first was artificially created by the US government in the mid-nineteenth century, hoping that liberated blacks could return to their homeland, getting rid of prejudice, completely eradicating slavery. Alas, the noble plan failed - most of yesterday's slaves did not want to go to their native Africa. Those who were taken there by force quickly killed a part of the local population, expanding the land they had given them and driving the rest into slavery. Of course, along with their usual way of life, they also retained English measures of weight.
In some areas of Canada, old measures are also used, but these are becoming less and less, and the state prefers to use the metric system.
Main measures
The smallest measure present in the English system is gran. It is equal to only 65 milligrams.
The next is an ounce - 28 grams. But if an intermediate unit is not enough, then in some cases, drams of 1/16 ounce, or 1.77 grams, are used.
The most common unit of measure in everyday life is the pound. Since its weight is 454 grams, the conversion of pounds to kilograms is simple - dividing by a factor of 2.2.
Officially used such a measure as stone. In practice, it has long been a thing of the past. The weight of one stone (stone) is 6.35 kilograms or 14 pounds.
The spread between the pound and the stone is quite large, which is not very convenient when calculating. But in fact, between them there are two intermediate measures, almost forgotten by the English and American inhabitants, measures - a quarter (3.5 pounds or 1.59 kilograms) and cloves (half a stone or 7 pounds or 3.18 kilograms).
Then in ascending order are: Tod (2 stones or 12.7 kg), cental (100 pounds or 45.36 kg). Then tons are usually used. But here, not everything is so simple - there is a metric ton (1000 kg), and a large one equal to 1016 kg.
As you can see, the English measure of weights is very complex. To carry out calculations in it, even remembering accurately all units of measurement, is not at all simple. That is why today almost all countries where it was used have abandoned it in favor of a much simpler and more convenient metric.
What is a gran?
Most often, this term is heard today by people who are interested in the history of weapons, as well as modern rifles, machine guns and, accordingly, ammunition. It is in granules that experts prefer to measure the powder filling. This unit of measure, which is only 65 milligrams, is used today in the United States, and before the revolution and the introduction of the metric system in 1927, it was also used in our country.
Gran owes its name to the Latin term granum, which translates as "grain". Indeed, it was experimentally established that one grain of barley on average weighed just 65 milligrams.
However, as is often the case with similar measures of weights, today there are several types of grains. Only the classic used by gunsmiths is 65 milligrams. But the jewelers have simplified all the measures that they are familiar with, as a result, the jewelry gran is a quarter carat, or 50 mg.
The translation of grains into grams is very simple - just divide the number of grains by a factor of 15.4.
A little about an ounce
But about this measure is often heard by everyone who is interested in the prices of precious metals. Silver, gold, platinum and others are sold on the stock exchanges precisely in ounces, not grams or kilograms.
An ounce, as mentioned above, is equal to 28 grams.
An ounce got its name back in Ancient Greece. The term uncia means 1/12 part of anything. Therefore, in Hellas, an ounce was used as a measure of length, and weight, and volume. In this case, it had a weight of 1/12 of the libra - a unit of weight equal to 327.5 grams.
However, bankers and jewelers changed the weight a bit - it turned out a troy ounce. It is equal to 31 grams and it is this unit that is used when weighing gold.
So if you need to find out the weight of an ounce in grams, you just need to multiply the indicator by 31.
How did the pound come about?
This is the most common weight unit in the USA . And the name pound also came to the world from ancient Rome. After all, the term pondus - kettlebell became the prototype.
The most convenient measure of weight, it has more than a hundred interpretations. Every kingdom in Europe and even every feudal lord established this value as the most convenient for himself. For example, the Russian pound weighed 409 grams, while the modern American pound is 10% more - 453 grams. Since 1835 there was even a standard - a pound of pure platinum.
The transfer of pounds to kilograms is quite easy - the weight is divided by 453, resulting in the desired number.
Conclusion
The article is drawing to a close. From it you learned not only about various English measures of weights, but also about their origin, ratio, translation into the metric system. And at the same time they made a short excursion into history, learning a little more about different countries.