When we measure the distance between any two points in regards to width, thickness, depth, and height, us measure length. Standard international (SI) unit because that measurement of size is ‘meter’.
You are watching: What is used to measure length
The standard tools used nowadays to measure up a size are – ruler, meter scale, measuring tape, vernier caliper, and also screw gauge. However, ancient people used tools like – hand span, foot, arm length, ropes, sticks, etc. To measure length.
Definition of length
Length is the measure of street between any kind of two points.
Back come the top
Definition because that Measurement of LengthMeasurement of size is the procedure of measure the distance between any kind of two points in hatchet of width, thickness, depth, and height.
Back come the top
Continue>>Measurement that length
Importance of measure of LengthTo understand the prestige of measurement think about this – if you have two pencils and also want to understand which among the two is longer, climate you deserve to easily discover it the end by placing both of them side by side. However, there are cases when girlfriend cannot move objects and also place them side by side. Take the instance of your’s teacher table and the dining table at your home. If you want to understand which one of the 2 is longer, you just cannot carry the teacher’s table to your residence or her dining table to the school. However, if you measure up the size of the teacher’s table through the expectancy of her palm and compare it through the length of the dining table by the expectations of your palm, you will certainly easily find out which one of the two tables is longer.
Now think what did girlfriend did to find the answer. Girlfriend did not move any of the tables. Instead, you relocated from the institution to the dining room. To measure the length, you provided the third object or one instrument, that is your palm. Similarly, various other tools used because that measuring length are a ruler, meter scale, measure tape, vernier caliper, and also screw gauge.
Back come the top
STANDARD UNIT (SI) because that MEASUREMENT the LENGTHIn the above example, you used the expectancy of her palm or hand to measure up length. Return this method to measure size may it is in simple, but it is no accurate. For example, if you and your father both measure the length of the sofa in your drawing room v a hand span as an instrument. The variety of hand expectancy measured by girlfriend on the same sofa will certainly be much more than the of your father’s. This is due to the fact that your hand span is smaller than her father’s.
So, to maintain uniformity, civilization all over the world use meter together the typical unit for length. The meter range is used as the conventional instrument to measure up length. To ensure the it is the exact same meter offered everywhere, the standard meter was defined by researchers as below:
Definitions that the meter (1798) –
One meter is one ten-millionth (1/10,000,000) of the street from the Equator to the phibìc pole along the longitude passing through the Paris in France.
Definitions the the meter (1927) –
Meter is the length between two point out on a steel bar make of 90% platinum and 10% iridium alloy. This bar is maintained at consistent temperature that 0oC and also is placed on 2 rollers. The is kept near Paris in France.
Definition of the meter (1988) –
Length that the route travelled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
To know an ext about the history of the meter, visit: History_of_the_metre
Back to the top
MULTIPLES and also SUB-MULTIPLES that METERThe unit meter is too tiny for measuring some lengths and too big for others. So, that was made decision to rise it in multiple of 10 for huge measures and also decrease it by sub-multiples that 10 for small measures. These multiples and also sub-multiples of the meter are offered special surname as offered below:
Multiples that Meter
Decameter (dam), 1 dam = 10 meters = 10 m
Hectometer (hm), 1 hm = 100 meter = 100 m
Kilometer (km), 1 kilometres = 1000 meter = 1000 m
Astronomical Unit (AU), 1 AU = 149,600,000,000 meter = 1496 x 108 m
Light year (ly), 1 ly = 9,561,000,000,000,000 meter = 9461 x 1012 m
We use the astronomical unit and also the light-year to measure up a distance in between objects v an extremely big distance between them. Such as distances in between planets and galaxies in the Universe.
Sub-multiples the Meter
Decimeter (dm), 1 dm = 0.1 meter = 1.0 x 10-1 m or 1 m = 10 dm
Centimeter (cm), 1 cm = 0.01 meter = 1.0 x 10-2 m or 1 m = 100 cm
Millimeter (mm), 1 mm = 0.001 meter = 1.0 x 10-3 m or 1 m = 1,000 mm
Micrometer (μm), 1 μm = 0.000001 meter = 1.0 x 10-6 m or 1 m = 1,000,000 μm
Nanometer (nm), 1 nm = 0.000000001 meters = 1.0 x 10-9 m or 1 m = 1,000,000,000 nm
Angstrom (Å), 1 Å = 0.0000000001 meter = 1.0 x 10-10 m or 1 m = 10,000,000,000 Å
We usage units like the Nanometer and the Angstrom because that the measure up of extremely little sizes, such as the diameter of atom or molecules.
Back come the top
OTHER systems FOR measure OF LENGTHApart from the units discussed above, some people use foot, inch, yard and also mile as units for measure of length.
Inch (in), 1 in = 2.54 cm
Foot (ft), 1 ft = 12 in or 30.48 cm
Yard (yd), 1 yd = 3 ft or 36 in or 91.44 cm
Mile (mi), 1 mi = 1760 yd or 5280 ft or 63,360 in
Back to the top
INSTRUMENTS used FOR measurement OF LENGTHIn old times, civilization used to measure up the length with the help of human body parts, such together outstretched palm, foot, arm-length (cubit). Yet you deserve to see the such instruments cannot serve as the traditional for measuring length. The an easy reason is that they are going to be different for different people. So, to prevent confusion scientists occurred standard tools to measure up length. The standard tools are those which space acceptable come the majority of the people as a simple instrument for transferring out the measurement. Few of the standard tools used to measure size are a ruler, meter scale, measure up tape, vernier caliper, and also screw gauge.
Ancient & modern-day Instruments for Measurement the Length
To measure an extremely long lengths prefer the size of a roadway we use measuring ice cream or an odometer. One odometer is an instrument for measuring the size or the distance traveled by a wheeled car like car, trucks, etc.
See more: What Is The Only Movable Joint In The Skull Is Between The Bones Of The Skull
For measure very small lengths like the thickness of nail or paper, we use vernier caliper and screw gauge. For other usual measurements of day to day family members objects, we usage ruler and also meter scale.