- What is a kilogram?
- Is kilogram and kilogram the same?
- Grams
- How to go from kilos to grams?
- Equivalences of a kilogram
We explain what the kilogram or kilo is, its history and equivalences. Also, what is the gram and how to go from kilograms to grams.
What is a kilogram?
The basic unit of measurement of the mass, as contemplated by the International System of Units (YES). Its symbol is kg, and it is equivalent to a thousand grams within the same scale.
It is the most widely used unit of its kind in the world, especially in the Sciences, engineering and Commerce. Until May 20, 2019, it was the only basic unit defined from an object that served as a pattern, rather than a universal physical constant.
Like all units of measurement, the kilogram is a convention, that is, a value that works within a scale and that requires a framework. Well otherwise, how do you know how much is equal to a kilo?
Thus, the kilogram was "invented" in 1795, during the French Revolution. Its initial definition was established as a thousand grams, a gram being the amount of mass in a cubic centimeter of Water pure in her melting point of ice (around 4 ° C).
As will be seen, it was a very imprecise definition, due to the properties of water, so in 1889 it was preferred to use as a reference a solid cylinder of iridium and platinum alloy (10% and 90% proportion respectively), with a height equal to the diameter of 39 millimeters. This prototype is kept at the International Office of Weights and Measures in Sèbvres, France.
However, later studies, as science and technology allowed it, they detected a variation of 50 micrograms in the weight of the prototype, without having a real explanation. In other words, in the last 100 years, the pattern has been losing a very small part of its mass.
For this reason, the kilogram was redefined in 2019, based on Planck's constant (h), a natural relationship used to describe energy transmission in radiation, equivalent to 6.62607015 x 10-34 joules per second.
It is also common to use the kilogram in measurements of force or intensity, to form the kilogram-force or kilopond, defined as the weight of a one-kilogram mass affected by the gravity terrestrial standard (equal to 9.80665 m / s2).
Is kilogram and kilogram the same?
Indeed, a "kilo" is the common name we give to the kilogram.
Grams
Initially, the decimal system of units contemplated measures of weight very different from the current ones. When Louis XVI of France ordered its elaboration, the system contemplated three basic units: the serious, equivalent to the modern kilogram; the gravet, equivalent to 0.001 serious (that is, a modern gram); and the Pub, equivalent to 1000 kg (that is, to a modern ton).
These terms were lost in time and were replaced when in 1795 the standard measure was defined: the gram, which was identical to the old one. gravet. To achieve larger and smaller dimensions, they were added prefixes to the unit: milli-gram, centi-gram, deci-gram, deca-gram, centi-gram and kilo-gram, all in proportion to the gram.
This logic still exists today, and it is the foundation of the metric system, according to which a thousand grams equals one kilogram, in the same way that a thousand meters equals one kilometer.
How to go from kilos to grams?
From the above it follows that the operation to go from kilograms to grams and vice versa requires arithmetic operations with a factor of 1000. That is, the variation between a gram and a kilogram is 1000 times, so that if we multiply 1 gram x 1000, we will get a kilogram (Xgr. 1000 = Xkg). The inverse operation has the same logic: if we divide a kilogram by 1000, we will obtain a gram (Xkg / 1000 = Xgr).
So, for example, 50 kilograms equals 50,000 grams, and vice versa.
Equivalences of a kilogram
According to other metric systems and other proportions, a kilogram of weight is equivalent to:
- 2 pounds 3.273965 ounces
- 0.23 stones (stones)
- 0.001 tons
- 0.01 quintals