imperialyksiköitä

Imperial units, also known as the British imperial system, are a system of weights and measures that were developed in the British Empire. While the United States still uses a version of these units, known as the U.S. customary units, most of the world has adopted the metric system. The imperial system originated from ancient Roman units, but evolved over centuries. Key units in the imperial system include the inch, foot, yard, and mile for length; the ounce, pound, and ton for mass; and the pint, quart, and gallon for liquid volume.

The system was formally defined by the Weights and Measures Act of 1824, which aimed to standardize units across the British Empire. This act standardized many units, though some variations persisted. For example, the imperial gallon is larger than the U.S. liquid gallon. Despite the global shift towards the metric system, imperial units remain in common use in some countries, notably the United States for everyday measurements. They are also still used in certain industries and contexts, such as aviation and some traditional crafts, even in countries that have officially adopted the metric system. The transition to metric has been gradual and in some cases incomplete, leading to a coexistence of both systems in specific applications.