Length conversion chart

 Table of contents:

• Length conversion table
• Length conversion chart
• Inch definition
• Feet definition
• Meter definition
• Imperial / US measurement system
• Metric measurement system

This length converter is an application that permits quick transformation from length measurement units in both imperial and in metric, and not only that. It is equipped with 20 different measures of length.

• Anstrom (A)
• picometers (pm)
• Nanometers (nm)
• Micrometers (mm)
• millimeters (mm)
• centimeters (cm)
• decimeters (dm)
• meters (m)
• Centimeters and meters
• kilometers (km)

• 1,000ths of an inch (mil / thou)
• inches (in)
• feet (ft)
• feet and inches
• yards (yd)
• miles (mi)

• Miles nautical (nmi)
• Sun radii (R)
• light years (ly)
• astronomical units (au)
• parsecs (pc)

It is a length conversion calculatorworks by entering units (up to 11 in the same calculation) into the tool. It then calculates the length converter then returns your results for each unit in real time. Click on the name of the unit when you'd like to do length conversion to a different unit than the default ones chosen by the Omni team. If you're trying to convert between various units of area, another tool we recommend is the

Length conversion table

To discover what conversion factors are between the nine most popular length units look up the following length conversion table:

millimeter (mm)	centimeter (cm)	meter (m)	kilometer (km)	inch (in)	foot / feet (ft)	yard (yd)	mile (mi)	the nautical mile (nmi)
1 millimeter (mm)	1	0.1	0.001	0.000001	0.03937	0.003281	0.0010936	0.0000006214	0.00000054
One centimeter (cm)	10	1	0.01	0.00001	0.3937	0.03281	0.010936	0.000006214	0.0000054
1 meter (m)	1000	100	1	0.001	39.37	3.281	1.0936	0.0006214	0.00054
1 kilometer (km)	1000000	100000	1000	1	39370	3281	1093.6	0.6214	0.54
1 Inch (in)	25.4	2.54	0.0254	0.0000254	1	0.08333	0.02778	0.000015783	0.000013715
1 foot = feet (ft)	304.8	30.48	0.3048	0.0003048	12	1	0.33333	0.0001894	0.00016458
1 yard (yd)	914.4	91.44	0.9144	0.0009144	36	3	1	0.0005682	0.0004937
1 mile (mi)	1609344	160934	1609.3	1.6093	63360	5280	1760	1	0.869
1.25 nautical miles (nmi)	1852000	185200	1852	1.852	72913	6076	2025.4	1.1508	1

We've decided that we'll round some of the conversion factors to fit into this table. So, some of these values may not be precise however they have reasonable accuracy.

Length conversion chart

If you're trying to figure out how to quickly convert between different units of the same system, you can check out these two simple length conversion charts:

1. Metric measurement system

For instance:

• 6 km = 6 * 1000 = 6000 m
• 180 cm = 180 / 100 = 1.8 m

1. Imperial in the US US measuring system

For instance:

• 5 yd = 5 * 3 = 15 ft
• 144 in = 144 / 12 = 12 ft

We've also decided to put together a list of most commonly requested length conversions. The ones that you're often seeking are:

1. meters to feet/ feet to meters

If you're thinking about how many feet can be in one meter, here's the answer:

• 1 meter 3.281 feet, which is 3 feet and 3 3/4 inches
• 1 foot equals 0.3048 Meter

1. cm to inches / inches in cm

Find out the number of centimeters in an inch:

• 1 centimeter 0.3937 inches
• 1 inch is 2.54 centimeters

1. feet to inches / inches to feet

To convert between inches and feet make use of:

• 1 foot equals 12 inches
• 1 in 0.08333 feet 1/12 of a foot

1. feet to yards/ yards to feet

What is the number of feet in a yard? Three!

• 1 yard = 3 feet
• 1 foot 0.3333 yards, 1/3 of one yard

1. feet to miles/ miles to miles

Have you ever thought about how many feet you can count in a mile?

• 1 foot 0.00018939 mile
• 1 yard = 5280 feet

Inch definition

The inch (abbreviate meaning "or ") is a measure of length in the Imperial or the US metric system. The name is derived from - according to some definitions, the size of the human thumb. In certain other languages e.g. Norwegian, Afrikaans, Italian or French an inch originates from the word thumb or, in some cases it's the phrase. In the 14th century, the inch was defined by the King of England as three grains of barley, dry and round, placed between the ends, lengthwise. Inch definitions varied throughout the ages but during the 1950's, an international standard was accepted, and the in is precisely 2.54 centimeters.

1 in = 2.54 cm

One inch also corresponds to 1/36 yard, one-half of a mile or 1/63360 of one mile.

On a daily basis, inches are commonly used in the US, UK, Canada as well as other nations that were formerly part of the British Empire. Height, length, width can be measured in inches as well as numerous sizes are described in units that are derived from inches (e.g. shoe size).

What is measured in inches - not only in the US however, but around the world?

• screen dimensions of monitors, smartphones TVs, (specifically dimensions of the diagonals in rectangular screens)
• resolution of the screen - PPI (pixels per inch)
• size of tires sizes e.g. bicycle or car wheels,
• various tools and pipes sizes
• some sport equipment uses the value for inches. e.g. used for archery.
• in the field of science, e.g. in science, e.g. microphones and the diameters of loudspeakers

International inch is the equivalent of: international inch is equal to:

• 10,000 tenths
• 1,000 thou/mill
• 100 points or grries
• 72 PostScript points
• 6 computer picas
• 3 barleycorns
• 2.54 centimeters exactly
• 0.999998 US Survey inches
• 1/3, or 0.333 palms
• 1/4 to 0.25 hands
• 1/12 or 0.08333 feet
• 1/36 or 0.02777 yards

Feet definition

Foot (abbreviate in the form of "ft" or ") is one of the length units that is part of an Imperial / US standard system of measurement. It's a measurement made based upon the body of a human as well as the name suggests. The measurement became standardized in 1950s and it's since been equivalent to 0.3048 meters exactly:

1 ft = 0.3048 m = 304.8 mm

The use of feet been utilized since ancient times in many different cultures, however, the length of the foot varied between them. The foot was utilized, e.g. in:

• Ancient Rome: 1 foot = 11.6 inches (295.7 mm). This was a standard foot, however in certain provinces it could be up to 13.2 inches (334 millimeters)
• Greece: 1 foot equals 10.6-13.8 inches (270 350 millimeters)
• Indus cities during the Bronze Age: 1 foot = 13.2 inches (333.5 millimeters)
• Egypt The equivalent of a foot is 12 inches (304.8 millimeters)

The unofficial public imperial measurement standards, Greenwich

For England The foot measure also changed through the centuries. It started from Roman standards, then Belgic Celts foot of 13.2 inches or Welsh foot came and went. The foot definition differed between regions, city to city, and later the kings altered the measure according to their preferences. e.g., Henry I was said to have commanded an entirely new standard that was based on his arm. In the following years, Edward II of England introduced the concept of standardization through the introduction of the statute foot which was 10/11 of the previous foot. The final agreement on foot's length was reached much later, in 1959 after it was the global yard and pounds accord was signed. Since then yard in the United States and countries in the British Commonwealth is equal to exactly 0.9144 meters. As yard was defined by the foot, it was calculated too. Thus, it's equal to:

1 foot = (1/3) * yard = (1/3) * 0.9144 m = 0.3048 m

In the US there are two kinds of feet are utilized every day that is the international foot, and the survey foot.

1. International footAlso known as the standard foot and was first standardized by the late 1950s. In many different applications, it's equivalent to 0.3048 meters: 1 international foot 0.3048 m and we've used the symbol to indicate that the significance of exactly the same value. The international foot measure corresponds to the human foot, which has 13 inches of shoe size (UK) as well as fourteen (US male).
2. Survey foot It is the US survey foot is close in comparison to the foot of the world. However, the word Nearly is the key . The survey foot's definition is precisely 1200/3937 meters: 1 US survey foot = 1200/3937 m 0,30480060960121920243840487680975... m As you can see, it looks like a very small difference there is something that changes when you reach the seventh decimal! Which is one difference of 0,609mm 609 nmwhen comparing one kind of foot to the other. What's the point? It's significant because the difference is negligible if we measure relatively tiny objects, but grows significantly if we begin measuring thousands of feet, such as when mapping or by using the state plane coordinate system (SPCS). Further, the law on the foot of a survey differs between fifty states.
   • 24 states have passed laws that state that the surveying procedures should be based on what is known as the US survey foot
   • 8 states have agreed that the decision should be taken on the basis of the the international foot
   • 18 states don't have a specific conversion factor from metric unitsBut do not fret too much - if you need the conversion for everyday conveyances or surveying of land The difference is small for short distances (< 1 mile) therefore it doesn't matter what definition you settle on.
   There's one other foot measurement - the Indian survey foot . It's described as In exact 0.3047996 M: 1. Indian survey foot = 0.3047996 m

Feet - and even the entire imperial system - is used frequently across the US. Then, it's not just there. In fact, the US has the distinction of being the one industrialized country in the world that hasn't officially adopted the International System of Units, also known as the system of measurement in metric units. The other two countries using this system of measurement are Liberia in Africa in Africa and Myanmar (also known as Burma) which is located in Southeast Asia. Canadians along with the British make use of a mixture of both systems: imperial and metric (e.g. the height of a man is usually stated in feet combined with inches).

Feet are not widely used outside of the English-speaking world. The most obvious example is the measurement of altitude in international aviation.

Meter definition

Meter (British English: metre) is the basis measurement of length in a number of metrics, including that of International System of Units (SI).

The meter definition changed as scientific methods in measuring developed. Now it's defined as an amount of time distance traveled by light in a vacuum in 1/9999,792,458 of a second.

But how was it characterized in the past?

• The first attempts to develop the meter definition started in 1790. At that time, The French National Assembly decided that the length of a new meters would be the same as that of the pendulum , with a half-period of 1 second. It is possible to determine the precision of this measure with our easy pendulum calculator. Type 2 into the pendulum's time box and you'll receive the pendulum length value. It's actually close to one meters (0.993621 m).

• In 1973 the circumference of Earth was chosen as a neutral standard. The Meter was defined as one ten-millionth of the distance from the Equator towards north pole. North Pole: 1 meter equals 1/10,000,000 of the quarter meridional diameter of the Earth along the meridian between the Earth and Paris
• 1799 - 1889 between 1799 and 1889, brass, platinum and the alloy of platinum with 10% iridium meter bars were produced, which is still a basis having Earth's meridian length. In the 1st General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1889, defined the meters as the distance between two vertical lines within a standard bar of the latter type of alloy. The International Prototype Meter is kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Sevres, near Paris. That meter definition was in effect until 1960 and also the 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures.
• From 1960 to 1983 the measurement was again redefined in the year 1960. It was renamed as 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of the red-orange spectrum of Krypton 86 in the specified conditions.
• 17th Conference determined the meter as 1/299,792,458 of the distance light travels in a vacuum within a single second, and this definition of meter is in effect to this day.

The table below sums up the history of the meter definition (by Cardarelli 2003).

Standard	Date	Absolute error	Relative uncertainty
1/10,000,000 of the quadrant along the Meridian	1795	500-100 mm	10 -4
The first prototype of the platinum bar standard	1799	50-10 mm	10 -5
Platinum-iridium bar with melting point of the ice (1st CGPM)	1889	200-100 nm	10 -7
Platinum-iridium bar at melting point of ice, atmospheric pressure, with two rolling rollers (7th CGPM)	1927	n.a.	n.a.
Hyperfine atomic transformation; 1650763.73 wavelengths of light coming from the specified transition in krypton 86 (11th CGPM)	1960	4 nm	4x10 -9
Length of the path traveled when light is in vacuum is the fraction of a second (17th CGPM)	1983	0.1 nm	10 -10

Imperial / US measurement system

Imperial the US measurement system as well as US measurement system are not exactly the same thing, but for length measures they are identical (they are different in volume measures, so e.g. the cup may contain a different amounts of fl oz in different systems). The only countries that did not recognize the metric units are the US, Liberia and Myanmar.

Six of the most frequently used US / imperial length units were included in our length converter:

• one thousandth of an inch (mil / thou),
• Inches (in),
• feet (ft),
• feet and inches
• yards (yd),
• miles (mi).

There are two additional length units, however, we've left them out of this length converter on purpose: A furlong's conversion ratio isn't standardised and a league was widely used within Europe in Europe and Latin America but is no ever an official measure in any other country. However, you can find them below, together with the most frequently-used values:

Unit	Relative to prior	Feet	Millimeters	Meters
thou (th)		1/12000	0.0254	0.0000254
inch (in)	1000 thou	1/12	25.4	0.0254
foot (ft)	12 inches	1	304.8	0.3048
yard (yd)	3 feet	3	914.4	0.9144
chain (ch)	22 yards	66	20116.8	20.1168
furlong (fur)	10 chains	660	201168	201.168
mile (mi)	8 furlongs	5280	1609344	1609.344
league (lea)	3 miles	15840	4828032	4828.032

Metric measurement system

The Metric measurement system, also called"the International System of Units (SI), represents an international decimal scheme for measures and weights. It's widely used around the world (apart of the three countries mentioned previously) It's easy to use, simple and convenient. Four base units of metric measurement system are:

• meters ( m) for length,
• kilogram ( kg) for mass (check out this converter for weight),
• second ( s) for time,
• ampere (A) for electromagnetism.

Furthermore, 22 derivative units with special names exist. They can be classified into five categories:

1. Electromagnetism

• volt, a unit of electrical potential
• Ohm, an ohm unit of electrical resistance,
• tesla is a measurement unit for magnetic flux density,
• weber is a type of magnetic flux
• farad, a unit of capacitance for electrical power,
• henry A unit of electrical inductance
• siemens, a measurement of electrical conductance,
• Coulomb, a measurement of electric charge.

1. Mechanics

• Watt, a unit of mechanical or electrical power
• newton, a unit of mechanical force
• Joule is a unit of electrical, mechanical or thermodynamic energy
• pascal is a measurement unit for pressure.

1. Radiation from the electromagnetic spectrum

• becquerel, a unit of radioactive decay
• Sievert is a term used to describe absorbent ionising radiation. Find the radiation dose you got on your trip to the airport using our radiation calculator for flights,
• gray an element of radioionizing energy,
• lux is a type of the luminous flux
• lumen A unit of luminescence.

1. Circular arcs as well as Spherical surfaces

• radian, a unit of circular arc
• Steradian an element of Spherical Surface Area.

1. Other

• degrees Celsius, a unit that measures thermodynamic temperatures. Check out this temperature converter that converts Celsius degrees Celsius in Kelvins or Fahrenheit;
• Katal is a type of catalytic action,
• hertz is a unit that measures cycles per second.