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HowMany - Unit Dictionar Category: Mathematics and statistics > Dictionary of unit measurements Date & country: 26/09/2008, USA Words: 1293

mil
in Scandinavia, the mil, pronounced like 'meal' in English, is a traditional distance unit considerably longer than Roman or English miles. In Denmark, the traditional mil was 24 000 Danish feet, which is 4.6805 miles or 7.5325 kilometers (this is the same as the north German meile; see above). The Danish mil has sometimes been interpreted as exact...

mil
an alternate spelling of the mill (see below).

mil-foot
a mil-foot is a section of wire one foot long and one mil in diameter; this would be a unit of volume equal to about 0.0377 cubic inches or 0.6178 cubic centimeters. However, the unit is used primarily in statements of resistivity in ohms per mil-foot or of density in pounds per mil-foot. The unit is also called the circular mil-foot.

milha
the traditional Portuguese mile, one of the 'longest miles' of all at 2282.75 yards (1.297 statute miles or 2087.3 meters).

milla
the traditional Spanish mile, equal to 5000 pies (Spanish feet) or 8 estadios. This is about 1392 meters, 4567 feet, or 0.865 statute mile.

mille
the traditional French mile, equal to 1000 toises. This is equal to about 6394.4 feet, 1.211 statute mile, or 1949 meters. In modern France, the mille sometimes means the nautical mile (mille marin), equal to exactly 1852 meters.

mille
the Latin word for 1000, sometimes used in English in very learned or literary contexts.

millenary
a unit of quantity equal to 1000.

milliampere (mA)
a common unit of electric current equal to 0.001 ampere.

milliarcsecond (mas)
a unit of angular measure commonly used in astronomy. One milliarcsecond is equal to 0.001 arcsecond, 0.277 77 microdegrees, or 4.848 137 nanoradians.

millicandela (mcd)
a unit of light intensity equal to 0.001 candela. The intensity of the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) used in electronics are stated in millicandelas.

millicurie (mCi)
a common unit of radioactivity. One millicurie represents radioactivity at the rate of 37 million atomic disintegrations per second, that is, 37 megabequerels.

millidegree (mdeg)
a unit of angle measure equal to 0.001° or exactly 36 arcseconds.

millidegree (mdeg)
a unit of temperature equal to 0.001°, usually meaning 0.001 °C.

milliequivalent (mEq or meq)
a unit of relative amount of substance commonly used in chemistry. One mEq equals 0.001 equivalent weight.

millier
a former name for the tonne or metric ton. This name, obsolete now, was used in Britain to avoid confusion with the British long ton.

milligal (mGal or mgal)
a unit of acceleration used in geology to measure subtle changes in gravitational acceleration. One milligal equals 10 micrometers per second per second, or 10^-5 meters per second per second. The unit should really be called the milligalileo.

milligauss (mG)
a unit of magnetic flux density equal to 0.001 gauss, 0.1 microtesla, or 100 nanoteslas. The magnetic fields generated by power lines and electronic equipment are often measured in milligauss.

milligray (mGy)
a common unit of radiation dose equal to 0.001 gray, 0.1 rad, or 1 millijoule of energy per kilogram of matter. Because the gray itself is such a large unit, many practical radiation measurements are made in milligrays. In particular, the exposures cause by X-ray equipment are typically in the milligray range.

millihenry (mH)
a common metric unit of electric inductance equal to 0.001 henry.

millihg
an informal name (pronounced 'millig') for the millimeter of mercury (see below).

millihorsepower (mhp)
a unit of power equal to 0.55 foot-pound per second or 0.7457 watt. This unit is commonly used to state the power of small electric motors.

millijoule (mJ)
a common metric unit of work or energy equal to 0.001 joule or 10⁴ ergs.

millilambert (mLb)
a common metric unit of illumination equal to 0.001 lambert or 10 lux (lx).

millilux (mlx)
a metric unit of illumination equal to 0.001 lux. The natural illumination at night is measured in millilux.

millimass unit (mu or mmu)
a unit of mass equal to 0.001 atomic mass unit, used in physics and chemistry. This unit is also called the millidalton (mDa). The millimass unit is an SI unit, but its proper SI symbol is mu, not the older symbol mmu.

millimeter of water gauge (mm WG)
another common name for the millimeter of water column. The word 'gauge' (or 'gage') after a pressure reading indicates that the pressure stated is actually the difference between the absolute, or total, pressure and the air pressure at the time of the reading.

millimicro- (mµ-)
an obsolete metric prefix denoting 10^-9 or one billionth. This prefix has been replaced by nano- (n-).

millimicron (mµ)
a former metric unit of distance equal to 0.001 micron or 10^-9 meter. The millimicron has been replaced by its equivalent, the nanometer (nm).

milline
a traditional unit of advertising. One milline equals the height of a line of 'agate' type (5.5 points, or about 2 mm) times the width of a column times one million copies of the publication.

millinewton (mN)
a metric unit of force equal to 0.001 newton, 100 dynes, or about 0.101 972 gram of force (gf).

millinile
a unit used in British nuclear engineering to describe the 'reactivity' of a nuclear reactor. One millinile is a reactivity of 10^-5. For a discussion of reactivity, see inhour.

millioersted (mOe)
a name sometimes used for the milligauss as a unit of magnetic flux density.

milliosmole (mOsm)
a unit of osmotic pressure, equal to 0.001 osmole, commonly used in biology and medicine.

milliparsec (mpc)
a unit of distance in astronomy equal to 0.001 parsec. Used in studying crowded parts of the universe such as globular clusters and galactic centers, the milliparsec is equal to about 206.265 astronomical units, 11.913 light days, or 30.8568 terameters (30.8568 x 10⁹ kilometers or 49.6486 million miles).

millipascal second (mPa•s)
an SI unit of dynamic viscosity equal to the centipoise (cP). This unit is gradually replacing the centipoise in many contexts.

milliphot (mph)
a unit of illuminance or illumination equal to 0.001 phot or 10 lux.

millipoise (mP, mPs, or mPo)
a metric unit of dynamic viscosity equal to 0.001 poise or 0.1 millipascal second (mPa•s).

milliradian (mrad)
a unit of angle measure equal to 0.001 radian. The milliradian equals about 0.057 296°, 3.437 75 arcminutes, or 3' 26.265'. In Britain this unit is often called the angular mil.

millirem (mrem)
a common unit of radiation dose equal to 0.001 rem or 10 microsieverts (µSv). A millirem is roughly the radiation dose you would receive from wearing a luminous dial watch for a year.

millisecond (ms or msec)
a common unit of time equal to 0.001 second.

millisiemens (mS)
a common unit of conductance equal to 0.001 siemens or 1 milliampere of current per volt of potential difference. The millisiemens is often used to measure the salinity of seawater or brackish water, since adding salt to water makes it much more conductive of electricity.

millisievert (mSv)
a unit commonly used to measure radiation dose. One millisievert equals 0.001 sievert or 0.1 rem.

millitesla (mT)
a common unit of magnetic field intensity equal to 0.001 tesla or 10 gauss. Since the tesla is quite a large unit, many practical measurements are made in milliteslas.

millivolt (mV)
a common unit of electric potential equal to 0.001 volt.

milliwatt (mW)
a common unit of power equal to 0.001 watt.

milliwatt hour (mW•h)
a common metric unit of work or energy, representing the energy delivered at a rate of one milliwatt for a period of one hour. This is equivalent to exactly 3.6 joules (J) of energy, or about 0.003 412 Btu, 0.859 846 (small) calories, or about 2.655 foot pounds.

minim
a unit of relative time in music equal to 1/2 whole note (a half note) or 1/4 breve.

minutum
in medieval times, a unit of time equal to 1/10 hour, or 6 minutes in modern terminology. This unit was divided into 4 moments (see below).

minyan
a traditional Hebrew unit of quantity equal to 10, the number of males aged 13 or over required for a Jewish worship service. (In many modern congregations, both males and females can be included in a minyan.)

MIU
symbol for one million international units. Dosages of certain drugs, such as various forms of interferon, are commonly stated in this unit.

mkono
a traditional unit of distance in East Africa, standardized under British rule as 1/2 yard (18 inches, or 45.72 centimeters). This unit is an African version of the cubit.

mkp
a common symbol for the meter kilopond, a metric unit of torque equal to 9.806 65 newton meters (N•m) or 7.233 01 pound feet.

MM
an abbreviation for one million, seen in a few traditional units such as those listed below. The abbreviation is meant to indicate one thousand thousand, M being the Roman numeral 1000. However, MM actually means 2000, not one million, in Roman numeration. Since the single letter M is now used commonly for one million, the use of the double MM is c...

MMb, MMbo
symbols for one million barrels of oil; see megabarrel above.

MMBF or MMBM
symbols sometimes used in U.S. forestry for one million board feet. One MMBF represents a volume of 83 333 cubic feet or 2360 cubic meters. 'BM' stands for 'board measure.'

MMcf
a symbol for one million cubic feet (28 316.85 m³, or 28.316 85 megaliters). Similarly, MMMcf is used for one billion cubic feet.

MMcfe
a symbol used in the natural gas industry for one million cubic feet of gas equivalent (cfe). This is really an energy unit equal to about 1.091 terajoules (TJ). Similarly, MMMcfe is used for one billion cubic feet of gas equivalent: 1.091 petajoules (PJ).

MMM
an abbreviation for one billion (10⁹), seen in a few traditional units such as those mentioned above. The abbreviation is meant to indicate one thousand thousand thousand, M being the Roman numeral 1000. However, MMM actually means 3000, not one billion, in Roman numeration.

MMscfd
symbol for one million standard cubic feet per day, the customary unit for measuring the production and flow of natural gas. 'Standard' means that the measurement is adjusted to standard temperature (60 °F or 15.6 °C) and pressure (1 atmosphere).

moiety
another name for a half, from the French moitié.

moment
a medieval unit of time equal to 1/40 hour or 1.5 minutes. This meaning has come down to us only as 'a brief interval of time.' The moment was divided into 12 ounces of 7.5 seconds each.

momme
a traditional Japanese weight unit corresponding to the Chinese mace (see above). Jewelers continue to use the momme to measure the weight of cultured pearls; for this purpose it equals exactly 3.75 grams (about 0.132 ounce) or 18.75 carats. The unit is commonly pronounced 'mommy' in English.

momme
a traditional unit used to measure the 'weight' (density per unit area) of silk. The measure is the weight in momme of a standard strip of silk 25 yards long by 1.49 inches wide, an area of 1341 square inches or about 0.8652 square meter. This makes the silk momme equal to about 3.62 grams per square yard or 4.33 grams per square meter.

mq
Italian abbreviation for the square meter (metro quadrato). Similarly, cmq is a square centimeter and kmq is a square kilometer. These are non-standard symbols; the correct symbol for the square meter is m².

MT
a common U.S. abbreviation for the metric ton or tonne (1000 kilograms).

mtu
see metric ton unit, above.

mu or mou
a traditional unit of land area in China. The traditional mu is about 675 square meters or 800 square yards. However, the colonial customs authorities used a larger mu equal to 8273.75 square feet, 919.3 square yards, or 768.65 square meters. In modern China, the mu is often reckoned to be exactly 1/15 hectare, which is 666.667 square meters or 797...

mud
a traditional Dutch unit of volume for grains and other dry commodities. Originally varying from market to market, the unit was declared equal to the hectoliter (about 3.5315 cubic feet or 2.838 U.S. bushels) when the metric system was introduced in the Netherlands. With this definition it is still in use.

mug
an informal contraction of 'metric slug'. See TME.

mug
another name for a slinch.

mwe
abbreviation for meter of water equivalent, a unit used in nuclear physics to describe the shielding around a reactor, accelerator, or detector. 1 mwe of any material (such as rock, gravel, etc.) is a thickness of that material providing shielding equivalent to one meter of water.

MWe, MWt
symbols used in the electric power industry to describe the size of generating plants. MWe is the symbol for the actual output of a generating station in megawatts of electricity; MWt is used for the heat energy, or thermal output, required to operate the generators. Thermal output is typically about three times the electric output.

Mya or mya
a common abbreviation (in English speaking countries) for 'million years ago.' The form 'Mya' is recommended, since the capital M, taken from the metric prefix mega- (M-), is the appropriate symbol for a million.

myriagram (myg)
a metric unit of mass equal to 10 000 grams or 10 kilograms (about 22.046 pounds). Although it is considered obsolete now, the myriagram was a useful unit comparable to the English quarter or Spanish arroba.

myriameter (mym)
an obsolete metric unit of distance equal to 10 000 meters or 10 kilometers (about 6.2137 miles).

nanoacre
a humorous unit of area on a computer chip, equal to one billionth of an acre or about 4.047 square millimeters.

nanobar (nb or nbar)
a CGS unit of pressure equal to 10^-9 bar or 0.1 millipascal (mPa). The nanobar is frequently used in meteorology to express the partial pressure of atmospheric ozone.

nanocurie (nCi)
a common unit of radioactivity. The nanocurie equals 10^-9 curie or 37 becquerels; this corresponds to a radioactivity of 37 atomic disintegrations per second.

nanofarad (nF)
a common metric unit of electric capacitance equal to 10^-9 farad. This unit was previously called the millimicrofarad (mµF).

nanogram (ng)
a metric unit of mass equal to 10^-9 gram, or one millionth of a milligram.

nanogray (nGy)
a unit of radiation dose equal to 10^-9 gray or 0.1 microrad (µrad). This unit often occurs in the study of inhalation exposures.

nanoliter (nl or nL)
a metric unit of volume equal to 10^-9 liter or 0.001 cubic millimeter.

nanometer (nm)
a metric unit of distance equal to 10^-9 meter. Introduced in 1951, the nanometer replaced the millimicron. One nanometer equals 0.001 micrometer or 10 angstroms.

nanomole
a unit of amount of substance equal to 10^-9 mole. This unit is common in biochemistry, since a mole of a large organic molecule can be quite a large amount.

nanon
an informal name for the nanometer.

nanonewton (nN)
a metric unit of force equal to 10^-9 newton (see below) or 0.1 millidyne. Nanonewtons measure the force of solar radiation and the tiny forces exerted within living cells.

nanoradian (nrad)
a unit of angle measure equal to 10^-9 radian. The nanoradian equals about 0.208 533 milliarcsecond (mas). Such tiny angles are encountered in astronomy and in geological measurements.

nanosecond (ns)
a unit of time equal to 10^-9 second.

nanosievert (nSv)
a unit of radiation dose equal to 10^-9 sievert or 0.1 microrem.

nanostrain (nstrain)
an engineering unit measuring strain. An object under strain is typically deformed (extended or compressed), and the strain is measured by the amount of this deformation relative to the same object in an undeformed state. One nanostrain is the strain producing a deformation of one part per billion (10^-9). Strains in geologica...

nanotesla (nT)
a unit of magnetic field strength equal to 10^-9 tesla or 10^-5 gauss. The unit is used in geology to measure small changes in the Earth's magnetic field.

Ncm
a symbol for the newton centimeter, a metric unit of torque equal to 0.01 newton meter (see below) or about 1.416 12 inch ounces (in•oz) in traditional English units.

nebuchadnezzar
a huge wine bottle holding about 15 liters, 20 times the volume of a regular bottle.

neck (nk)
an informal unit of distance used to measure the distance one horse leads another at the finish of a race. The neck is usually interpreted to be 1/4 length or a little less; this is roughly 2 feet or 0.6 meter.

nest
an old English unit of quantity equal to 3. This unit was often, but not always, used for items that nest together, such as 3 bowls or 3 hampers.

net ton (NT)
the name 'net ton' is used in at least two ways: (1) as another name for the U.S. or short ton of 2000 pounds (see ton ), and (2) as another name for the register ton, a unit of volume equal to 100 cubic feet (see ton ), in describing the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship as opposed to the entire interior volume. To avoid conf...

new candle
an older name (introduced in 1937) for the candela, a unit of light intensity.

new style (NS)
a notation used after dates to indicate that the date is stated in the Gregorian calendar (the calendar now in general use) rather than in the Julian calendar (see year ). The notation is used primarily for Gregorian dates between 15 October 1582, when the Gregorian calendar was adopted in Catholic Europe, and 14 September 1752, when it ...

ngarn
a unit of land area in Thailand. The ngarn equals 1/4 rai, 100 talangwah (tw), or exactly 400 square meters (478.396 square yards or just under 0.1 acre).