Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Unit Conversion
Unit Conversion
Acre (ac or A)
a unit of area used for measuring real estate in English-speaking countries. One
acre is equal to 0.404 687 3 hectare.
Bag
an old English unit of weight, varying with the contents of the bag but generally
in the range of 2-4 hundredweight (100-200 kilograms).
Bigha
a traditional unit of land area in South Asia.
The bigha varies in size from region to another; in India it is generally less than an
acre (0.4 hectare).
In Bengal (both in Bangladesh and in West Bengal, India) the bigha was
standardized under British colonial rule (0.1338 hectare or 0.3306 acre); this is
often interpreted as being 1/3 acre.
In central India bighas were standardized at 3025 square yards or 5/8 acre (0.2529
hectare).
In Nepal the bigha equals about 0.677 hectare (1.67 acres). The bigha was divided
into 20 katthas, and each kattha contained 20 dhurs.
chain (ch)
a unit of distance formerly used by surveyors. The traditional British surveyor's
chain, also called Gunter's chain because it was introduced by the English
mathematician Edmund Gunter (1581-1626) in 1620, is 4 rods long: that's equal
to exactly 1/80 mile, 1/10 furlong, 22 yards, or 66 feet (20.1168 meters). In the
metric world, surveyors often use a chain of 20 meters (65.617 ft).
Cubic centimeter (cm3 or cc)
the CGS unit of volume, equal to 10-6 cubic meter, 1 milliliter, or about 0.061 023
7 cubic inch.
Dhur
a traditional unit of land area in South Asia, equal to 1/20 kattha or 1/400 bigha.
Like the bigha, the dhur varied in size from region to another.
In Nepal, where the unit is still in use, the dhur equals about 16.9 square meters.
Furlong (fur)
a traditional unit of distance. One furlong is exactly 201.168 meters, so a 200-
meter dash covers a distance very close to a furlong.
Hectare (ha)
the customary metric unit of land area, that is, the area of a square 100 meters on
each side: exactly 10 000 square meters or approximately 107 639.1 square feet,
11 959.9 square yards, or 2.471 054 acres.
Horsepower (hp)
a unit of power representing the power exerted by a horse in pulling. The
horsepower was defined by James Watt (1736-1819), the inventor of the steam
engine, who determined after careful measurements that a horse is typically
capable of a power rate of 550 foot-pounds per second. This means that a horse,
harnessed to an appropriate machine, can lift 550 pounds at the rate of 1 foot per
second. Today the SI unit of power is named for Watt, and one horsepower is
equal to approximately 745.6999 watts.
Kanal
a traditional unit of land area
in Pakistan, equal to 20 marlas.
Under British rule the marla and kanal were standardized so that the kanal equals
exactly 605 square yards or 1/8 acre; this is equivalent to about 505.857 square
meters.
Kattha or katta
a traditional unit of land area in South Asia, equal to 20 dhurs or 1/20 bigha. Like
the bigha, the kattha varied in size from one region to another.
In Nepal, where the unit is still in use, the kattha equals about 338 square meters.
Kilovolt (kV)
a common unit of electric potential equal to 1000 volts.
Kilowatt (kW)
a common metric unit of power, equivalent to 1000 watts, about 1.341 022
horsepower.
Man hour
a common unit of labor equal to the work of one person for one hour. The less
restrictive term person hour is gradually coming into use.
Marla
a traditional unit of area in Pakistan. The marla was standardized under British
rule to be equal to the square rod, that is, 25.2929 square meters.
Megagram (Mg)
an SI unit of mass equal to one million grams or 1000 kg.
Metric quintal
a unit of mass equal to 1 decitonne, 100 kilograms.