Etci - Unit Conversion Calculator Online

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Unit conversion calculators help you convert the most common units of measurement defined in the International System Of Units such as Celsius to Fahrenheit, kg to lb, miles to kilometers, inches to centimeters, and many more.

Established back in 1960, The International System of Units (SI) is the main system for measuring units for science, technology, industry, and commerce. The measurement with the help of a unit converter provides the value of a non-metric quantity to the metric equivalent.

There are seven main or base units defined in the SI.

  • The unit of time is the second (s)
  • The unit of length - meter or “metre” (m)
  • The unit of mass - the kilogram (kg)
  • The unit of electric current - Ampere (A)
  • The unit of thermodynamic temperature - Kelvin (K)
  • The amount of substance - mole (mol)
  • The unit of luminous intensity - candela (cd)

Derived from the seven base units, the SI uses derived units, (22 of them are named) which could be presented as a product of one or more base units or dimensionless units. Examples for derived units are “square meter”, “hertz”, “ Ohm”, “newton”, “watt”, “pascal” and more.

Described by The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) as "the modern form of the metric system" and known as the only system with official status in almost every country in the world, SI originates from the Metric System created in France back in 1790 by Charles Maurice de Talleyrand.

History of the Metric System and how it works

The need for standardization of the units used for weights and measures dates back from centuries ago when countries with developing international trading politics felt the lack of global standards.

Realizing this, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand presents his idea of a system that defines the standard of the length based on the length of the Earth to the French Parliament. More specific - that length to be the 'metre' (meter) and its length was defined as one ten-millionth of the length of a quadrant on the Earth's surface from the equator to the north pole.

France embraced the new idea of the Metric System in a period of rebuilding the country after the French Revolution. But Talleyrand wanted to go further and proposed the method to the world. While Great Britain and the United States declined the idea of global standards of metric units and the metric conversion, the new system was welcomed around the world. By 1875, two-thirds of Europe, and nearly half the world's population had adopted the metric system.