Equivalents in Other Units
| Metric unit expressed in non-SI units |
Non-SI unit expressed in metric units |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 metre | ≈ | 1.0936 | yards | 1 yard | ≡ | 0.9144 | metres | |
| 1 metre | ≈ | 39.370 | inches | 1 inch | ≡ | 0.0254 | metres | |
| 1 centimetre | ≈ | 0.39370 | inch | 1 inch | ≡ | 2.54 | centimetres | |
| 1 millimetre | ≈ | 0.039370 | inch | 1 inch | ≡ | 25.4 | millimetres | |
| 1 metre | ≡ | 1×1010 | ångström | 1 ångström | ≡ | 1×10−10 | metre | |
| 1 nanometre | ≡ | 10 | ångström | 1 ångström | ≡ | 100 | picometres | |
Within this table, "inch" and "yard" mean "international inch" and "international yard", respectively, though approximate conversions in the left-hand column hold for both international and survey units.
- "≈" means "is approximately equal to";
- "≡" means "equal by definition" or "is exactly equal to."
One metre is exactly equivalent to 10,000⁄254 inches and to 10,000⁄9,144 yards.
A simple mnemonic aid exists to assist with conversion, as three "3":
- 1 metre is nearly equivalent to 3 feet–3 3⁄8 inches. This gives an overestimate of 0.125 mm.
The ancient Egyptian cubit was about 1⁄2 m (surviving rods are 52.3–52.9 cm.) Scottish and English definitions of ell (two cubits) were 0.941 m and 1.143 m, respectively. The ancient Paris toise (fathom) was slightly shorter than 2 m, and was standardized at exactly 2 m in the mesures usuelles system, such that 1 m was exactly 1⁄2 toise. The Russian versta was 1.0668 km. The Swedish mil was 10.688 km, but was changed to 10 km when Sweden converted to metric units.
Read more about this topic: Metre
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