Kilometre
kilometre | |
---|---|
SI | |
Unit of | length |
Symbol | km |
Conversions | |
1 km in ... | ... is equal to ... |
US units | 0.62137 mi 1093.6 yd 3280.8 ft |
nautical units | 0.53996 nmi |
The kilometre (
The abbreviation km is commonly used to represent kilometre. The abbreviation Km is not recommended by the
Pronunciation
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2011) |
There are two common pronunciations for the word.[4]
The first pronunciation follows a pattern in English whereby SI units are pronounced with the stress on the first syllable (as in
Many other users, particularly in countries where SI (the metric system) is not widely used, use the second pronunciation with stress on the second syllable.[5][6] The second pronunciation follows the stress pattern used for the names of measuring instruments (such as micrometer, barometer, thermometer, tachometer, and speedometer). The contrast is even more obvious in countries that use the American spelling of the word metre. This pronunciation is irregular because it makes the kilometre the only SI unit with the stress on the second syllable.
After Australia introduced the metric system in 1970, the first pronunciation was declared official by the government's Metric Conversion Board. However, the Australian prime minister at the time, Gough Whitlam, insisted that the second pronunciation was the correct one because of the Greek origins of the two parts of the word.[7]
Equivalence to other units of length
1 kilometre ≡ 1000 metres ≈ 3281 feet ≈ 1094 yards ≈ 0.621 miles ≈ 0.540 nautical miles ≈ 6.68×10−9 astronomical units[8] ≈ 1.06×10−13 light-years[9] ≈ 3.24×10−14 parsecs
History
By a decree of 8 May 1790, the French National Constituent Assembly ordered the French Academy of Sciences to develop a new measurement system. In August 1793, the French National Convention decreed the metre as the sole length measurement system in the French Republic and it was based on 1/10 millionth of the distance from the orbital poles (either North or South) to the Equator, this being a truly internationally based unit. The first name of the kilometre was "Millaire". Although the metre was formally defined in 1799, the
The Dutch, on the other hand, adopted the kilometre in 1817 but gave it the local name of the mijl.[12] It was only in 1867 that the term "kilometer" became the only official unit of measure in the Netherlands to represent 1000 metres.[13]
Two German textbooks dated 1842[14][15] and 1848[16] respectively give a snapshot of the use of the kilometre across Europe: the kilometre was in use in the Netherlands and in Italy, and the myriametre was in use in France.
In 1935, the
Kilometre records
Some sporting disciplines feature 1000 m (one-kilometre) races in major events (such as the Olympic Games). In some disciplines—although world records are catalogued—one-kilometre events remain a minority.
Discipline | Name | Time (min:sec) | Location | Date | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Running (M) | Noah Ngeny | 2:11.96[citation needed] | Rieti, Italy
|
5 Sep 1999 | Not an Olympic event |
Running (F) | Svetlana Masterkova | 2:28.98[citation needed] | Brussels | 23 Aug 1996 | Not an Olympic event |
Speed skating (M) | Pavel Kulizhnikov | 1:05.69 | Salt Lake City | 15 Feb 2020 | |
Speed skating (F) | Brittany Bowe | 1:11.61 | Salt Lake City | 9 Mar 2019 | |
Track cycling (M) | François Pervis | 56.303[18] | Aguascalientes, Mexico
|
7 Dec 2013 | No official 1000 m women's record |
See also
- Conversion of units, for comparison with other units of length
- Cubic metre
- Metric prefix
- Mileage
- Odometer
- Orders of magnitude (length)
- Square kilometre
References
- ^ "Kilometre". Oxford Learner's Dictionaries. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ^ "The International System of Units (SI)" (PDF). International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM). 2019. pp. 147–149. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ "MARINE CORPS JARGON" (PDF). hqmc.marines.mil. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- ISBN 3-12-539683-2
- ^ White, Roland (23 March 2008). "Correct pronunciation on the radio". The Times. London. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Kilometer – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
- Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies - University of Oklahoma. Archived from the originalon 22 October 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
- ^ One astronomical unit is currently accepted to be equal to 149597870691±30 m.
- ^ A light-year is equal to 9.4607304725808×1012 km the distance light travels through vacuum in one year (365.25 days).
- ^ Develey, Emmanuel (1802). Physique d'Emile: ou, Principes de la science de la nature (in French). Vol. 1. Paris.
- ^ Map of the department of Hautes Pyrénées (Map). France Pittoresque (in French). Laguillermie et Rambos. 1835. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ Jacob de Gelder (1824). Allereerste Gronden der Cijferkunst [Introduction to Numeracy] (in Dutch). 's-Gravenhage and Amsterdam: de Gebroeders van Cleef. pp. 155–156. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
- ^ "[News from] Nederland" (PDF). De Locomotief. Nieuws, handels en Advertentie-blad. 12 August 1869. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2017.
- ^ "Amtliche Maßeinheiten in Europa 1842" [Official units of measure in Europe 1842] (in German). Retrieved 26 March 2011. Text version of Malaisé's book.
- ^ Ferdinand Malaisé (1842). Theoretisch-practischer Unterricht im Rechnen [Theoretical and practical instruction in arithmetic] (in German). München. pp. 307–322. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
- ^ Mozhnik, Franz (1848). Lehrbuch des gesammten Rechnens für die vierte Classe der Hauptschulen in den k.k. Staaten [Arithmetic textbook for the fourth class in the [Austrian] Imperial and [Hungarian] Royal states] (in German). Vienna: Im Verlage der k.k. Schulbücher Verschleiß-Administration. Das Wegmaß. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
- ISBN 0-948251-84-0.
- ^ "Pervis sets new kilometre world record in Mexico". Cycling News. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
External links
- Media related to Distance indicators at Wikimedia Commons