Units of Measurement Guide (Free Infographic)
Weight is used every day to measure how heavy something is, but there’s more than one unit of measurements that’s used today.
This guide aims to help you understand the different units of measurement used for weighing, from traditional units to more complex measurements.
We also covered a lot of common weight conversions in this helpful guide, which might also be useful for you.
Metric System
The metric system is adopted by most nations across the world. It was first introduced in France in the 1790s and, since then, has become increasingly popular.
In 2018, the kilogram was actually changed as the master kilogram and its copies were slowly deteriorating over time. Scientists now use Planck’s Constant to represent the exact weight of a kilogram using an electrical current.
The new process involves electromagnets generating a force, which is compared to the amount of electrical current going through its coils. A kilogram can then be determined by the amount of electricity needed to counteract the weight.
Imperial System
Both the United States and the UK still use the imperial system, although the UK is stuck in the middle of both the imperial and metric systems. The imperial system is also known as the avoirdupois system, and was first commonly used in the 13th century. It was updated in 1959.
Troy Weights
If you buy and sell gold, platinum, silver and other precious metals and stones, then you’ll actually use another unit of measurement - troy weights. It’s important to note if a weight is in troy ounces rather than imperial ounces, for example, as a troy ounce is heavier than the standard ounce.
Jewel Weights
In addition to troy weights, these are also used for measuring the weight of individual stones.
Apothecaries
Apothecaries (or pharmacies) use a separate set of weights when it comes to measuring the weight of drugs and medicines. Most of the apothecaries units are the same weight as troy units, but some differ.
Chinese Units of Measurement
The Chinese units of measurement listed below are most commonly used for weighing precious metals.
Below we list the most common, modern measurements that have been used in the People's Republic of China since 1959.
Other
There are a number of other weighing measurements, which we’ve included below along with a description of what they are.
Free Infographic
Below is our free infographic detailing the most commonly used units of measurement. You can print this out or simply save it on your computer for future use, if you’d like to.
Further Reading
Although many people use the words ‘mass’ and ‘weight’ interchangeably, they are not the same thing! That’s why we’ve put together this guide to help you understand.
There are a number of units of measures used around the world, which can be confusing. Thankfully we’ve put together this guide to help you with common weight conversions.
Now you’ve seen how complicated units of measurement can be, surely it’s simpler to just choose an accurate weighing scale to do it for you. Here’s 7 things to consider when buying industrial weighing scales.