Back in the days of the ancient Romans, one land mile was equal to 1000 steps. Later, a specific figure was set - 1609 meters. The length of a nautical mile was 1852 meters. Where did this one come from?

A bit of history...

It was inconvenient for sailors to use statute miles to measure the speed of a ship. Especially, there were unjustified risks during emergency work. From the raging elements during the storm, the life of sailors was in great danger. Under such conditions, it was not possible to use land measurements.

Therefore, we found a more suitable option. They took a heavy log and threw it overboard. Then they counted how many knots will pass through the sailor's hands for a certain period of time before the rope is pulled.

Empirically determined the distance between the nodes and the time interval. There are different versions about the exact definition. One of them, when the distance between the nodes averaged 15 meters. It took 30 seconds in time.

It was practical and rational. The countdown was measured with an hourglass. All that remained was to count the knots and look at the sand. The task could be performed even by an illiterate sailor.

We summed up these studies and found out. The length from one knot to another to the tension of the rope is 15 meters, in time it takes 30 seconds. By simple arithmetic operations, the average speed of the ship was calculated. Thus, one nautical mile was 1852 meters in one hour.

Further developments

With the development of navigation, even greater convenience was introduced. One nautical mile became equal to one minute along the meridian. 1 degree equals 60 minutes. This will be 60 nautical miles. The nautical mile has become convenient for calculating navigation tasks.

Therefore, the navigators began to measure the distance with a compass. By attaching it to a degree scale, they recognized the distance in nautical miles. For example, to find out a distance of 30 miles, it is enough to measure 30 arc minutes with a compass on any meridian plotted on the map.

Now, of course, all equipment is computerized. There is no need to use outdated methods, but the nautical mile, as a unit of distance, has remained unchanged at 1852 meters. It is called navigational or geographic.

The knot is used in shipping as the basic unit of speed. Nautical miles and knots are the same clear and familiar measurements at sea as kilometers and meters on land.

The need to translate the speedometer readings, as a rule, arises among the owners of American cars, whose instruments have a scale in miles. On the territory of the Russian Federation, the metric system is used and speed limits are set in kilometers per hour.

1 mile = 1.609 kilometers

You can solve this simple mathematical problem with the help of our converter. To do this, you must enter the initial value in the corresponding field. At the same time, the translation is carried out both from mph to km / h, and vice versa.

Correspondence table

It should be borne in mind that administrative responsibility under Art. 12.9 of the Code of Administrative Offenses occurs when the speed is exceeded by 20 km / h, therefore the speedometer values ​​\u200b\u200bspecified in the table have a “run-up” of about 10 miles.

Types of speedometers

Currently, there are several types of speedometers:

• turnout;
• electronic;
• combined.

The speedometer scale with an arrow can be in kilometers, miles, or have double values, as in the picture:

In vehicles with an electronic speedometer, the dashboard settings often have the option to display kmh or mph. In some cases, the translation is carried out by connecting a special computer to the diagnostic connector of the vehicle or by firmware of the electronic unit.

Combined speedometers (with an arrow and an electronic scoreboard at the same time) can also have the ability to adjust the units of measurement. In this case, we recommend that you refer to the operating instructions for your car.

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1 kilometer [km] = 0.621371192237334 miles

Initial value

Converted value

meter exameter petameter terameter gigameter megameter kilometer hectometer decameter decimeter centimeter millimeter micrometer micron nanometer picometer femtometer attometer megaparsec kiloparsec parsec light year astronomical unit (international) mile (statute) mile (US, geodetic) mile (Roman) 1000 yards furlong furlong (US, geodetic) chain chain (US, geodetic) rope (English rope) genus genus (US, geodetic) perch field (eng. pole) fathom fathom (US, geodetic) cubit yard foot foot (US, geodetic) link link (US, geodetic) cubit (Brit.) hand span finger nail inch inch (US, geodetic) barleycorn (eng. barleycorn) thousandth of a microinch angstrom atomic unit of length x-unit fermi arpan soldering typographic point twip cubit (Swedish) fathom (Swedish) caliber centiinch ken arshin actus (O.R.) vara de tarea vara conu quera vara castellana cubit (Greek) long reed reed long cubit palm "finger" Planck length classical electron radius Bohr radius equatorial radius of the Earth polar radius of the Earth distance from the Earth to the Sun radius of the Sun light nanosecond light microsecond light millisecond light second light hour light days light week Billion light-years Distance from the Earth to the Moon cable lengths (international) cable lengths (British) cable lengths (USA) nautical mile (USA) light minute rack unit horizontal pitch cicero pixel line inch (Russian) vershok span foot sazhen oblique sazhen verst boundary verst

Converter feet and inches to meters and vice versa

foot inch

m

More about length and distance

General information

Length is the largest measurement of the body. In three dimensions, length is usually measured horizontally.

Distance is a measure of how far two bodies are from each other.

Distance and length measurement

Distance and length units

In the SI system, length is measured in meters. Derived quantities such as kilometer (1000 meters) and centimeter (1/100 meter) are also widely used in the metric system. In countries that do not use the metric system, such as the US and the UK, units such as inches, feet, and miles are used.

Distance in physics and biology

In biology and physics, lengths are often measured much less than one millimeter. For this, a special value, a micrometer, has been adopted. One micrometer is equal to 1×10⁻⁶ meters. In biology, micrometers measure the size of microorganisms and cells, and in physics, the length of infrared electromagnetic radiation. A micrometer is also called a micron and sometimes, especially in English literature, is denoted by the Greek letter µ. Other derivatives of the meter are also widely used: nanometers (1×10⁻⁹ meters), picometers (1×10⁻¹² meters), femtometers (1×10⁻¹⁵ meters), and attometers (1×10⁻¹⁸ meters).

Distance in navigation

Shipping uses nautical miles. One nautical mile is equal to 1852 meters. Initially, it was measured as an arc of one minute along the meridian, that is, 1/(60 × 180) of the meridian. This made latitude calculations easier, since 60 nautical miles equaled one degree of latitude. When distance is measured in nautical miles, speed is often measured in nautical knots. One knot is equal to one nautical mile per hour.

distance in astronomy

In astronomy, long distances are measured, so special quantities are adopted to facilitate calculations.

astronomical unit(au, au) is equal to 149,597,870,700 meters. The value of one astronomical unit is a constant, that is, a constant value. It is generally accepted that the Earth is located at a distance of one astronomical unit from the Sun.

Light year equals 10,000,000,000,000 or 10¹³ kilometers. This is the distance that light travels in a vacuum in one Julian year. This value is used in popular science literature more often than in physics and astronomy.

Parsec approximately equal to 30,856,775,814,671,900 meters or approximately 3.09 × 10¹³ kilometers. One parsec is the distance from the Sun to another astronomical object, such as a planet, star, moon, or asteroid, with an angle of one arcsecond. One arc second is 1/3600 of a degree, or about 4.8481368 mrad in radians. Parsec can be calculated using parallax - the effect of a visible change in the position of the body, depending on the point of observation. During measurements, a segment E1A2 (in the illustration) is laid from the Earth (point E1) to a star or other astronomical object (point A2). Six months later, when the Sun is on the other side of the Earth, a new segment E2A1 is drawn from the new position of the Earth (point E2) to the new position in space of the same astronomical object (point A1). In this case, the Sun will be at the intersection of these two segments, at point S. The length of each of the segments E1S and E2S is equal to one astronomical unit. If we postpone the segment through the point S, perpendicular to E1E2, it will pass through the intersection point of the segments E1A2 and E2A1, I. The distance from the Sun to point I is the SI segment, it is equal to one parsec when the angle between the segments A1I and A2I is two arcseconds.

On the image:

• A1, A2: apparent star position
• E1, E2: Earth position
• S: position of the sun
• I: point of intersection
• IS = 1 parsec
• ∠P or ∠XIA2: parallax angle
• ∠P = 1 arc second

Other units

League- an obsolete unit of length used earlier in many countries. It is still used in some places, such as the Yucatan Peninsula and rural areas of Mexico. This is the distance a person walks in an hour. Marine League - three nautical miles, approximately 5.6 kilometers. Lie - a unit approximately equal to the league. In English, both leagues and leagues are called the same, league. In literature, the league is sometimes found in the title of books, such as "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" - the famous novel by Jules Verne.

Elbow- an old value equal to the distance from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow. This value was widespread in the ancient world, in the Middle Ages, and until modern times.

Yard used in the British imperial system and is equal to three feet or 0.9144 meters. In some countries, such as Canada, where the metric system is adopted, yards are used to measure the fabric and length of swimming pools and sports fields and grounds, such as golf and football courses.

Meter Definition

The definition of the meter has changed several times. The meter was originally defined as 1/10,000,000 of the distance from the North Pole to the equator. Later, the meter was equal to the length of the platinum-iridium standard. Later, the meter was equated to the wavelength of the orange line of the electromagnetic spectrum of the krypton atom ⁸⁶Kr in vacuum, multiplied by 1,650,763.73. Today, a meter is defined as the distance traveled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.

Computing

In geometry, the distance between two points, A and B, with coordinates A(x₁, y₁) and B(x₂, y₂) is calculated by the formula:

Calculations for converting units in the converter " Length and distance converter' are performed using the functions of unitconversion.org .

All countries of the world are striving for a universal standardization of the system of measures, but still there are some units of measurement duplicating each other. In many countries, distances are now measured in miles and feet.

The metric system is more familiar to Russians and residents of the CIS countries, so the designation of the distance in miles introduces many into a stupor. But how many km are in 1 mile or how many miles are in one kilometer? We will help you understand this and look at the types of miles used in the world.

What is a mile?

A mile is a unit of measurement used primarily in America and Great Britain. You may have noticed that the distance and speed are shown in miles on the speedometers of American and British cars. Moreover, this value is found in books on navigation, but a land mile is different from a sea mile.

In Latin, the unit of measurement is called the mille passuum. A mile is equivalent to a thousand double steps of Roman soldiers in full uniform during the march. This unit was first used in ancient Rome to measure the length of the path. Until the metric system appeared in the world, the mile was used everywhere, and in some countries this unit was preserved. But how many km are there in a land and sea mile?

How many kilometers in nautical and statute miles?

As you already know, miles are different. There are only 1608 meters in a modern land mile, and one nautical mile is 1852 meters or 1.85 km. By default, in business documents of international format and other designations, it is the British statute mile, also called the American one, that is why you can remember the following ratios for ease of calculation:

• 1 mile is equal to 1.6 km or 1608 meters;
• 2 miles is 3.2 km;
• 5 miles equals 8.04 km;
• 100 miles is 169 km.

Other types of miles

There are also French, German and even Swedish miles. There is a German or so-called geographical mile, which was equated to 1/15 of the equatorial parallel. Accordingly, 1 German mile is 7.42 km. The French, in turn, divided the sea and land miles, equating them to a fraction of the meridian of the planet:

• 1 French statute mile = 4.44 km;
• 1 French nautical mile = 5.55 km.

The Swedes also had their own mile, equal to 10.6 km, but when approving the international measurement system, they shortened it to 10 km. In everyday life, you are unlikely to need these values, and most often you will ask questions, how many km are in an American mile? You already know this - 1 British or American mile is equal to 1.6 km.

Education

How many kilometers in a mile? This question 250-300 years ago would have baffled not only an experienced traveler, but also a scientist. What mile? And what is a kilometer?

The word "mile" comes from the Roman milia passum, which means a thousand steps. The Romans denoted the distance as a thousand double steps of a legionnaire. The need to measure the length, and not only of the road, but also of individual objects, has always been with people. The distance was tied to the flight of an arrow, and to a day's march, and even to pipes - that is, while walking, you smoke a certain number of pipes.

The names of measures of length associated with the name of body parts were especially popular. This, for example, is an elbow - 0.5 meters, a span - about 20 cm, a foot - about 30 cm. The latter is translated from English as "step, leg." Obviously, such a system is rather inconvenient. After all, the legs, and arms, and steps of all people are of different lengths.

By the end of the nineteenth century, there were over forty different miles in Europe for measuring distance on land. The answer to the question of how many kilometers is in a mile varied greatly even in neighboring countries.

The Roman mile, according to various sources, was 1483 or 1598 meters. Neighboring England and Scotland had different miles. The English one was shorter, there were 1609 meters in it, in the Scottish one - 1808 m. The German mile was much longer - 7420 meters. The situation was similar in Russia. Here, the mile was rarely used as a land measure of length, it was mainly used to solve metric problems. The Russian mile consisted of seven versts, and it had 7468 meters.

But all length records were beaten by miles of Scandinavian countries. The Swedish mile had a length of 10688 m, and the Norwegian mile could claim the title of the longest - it was 11298 m.

Naturally, this situation did not suit very many. And in 1875 in Paris, XVII countries signed the metric convention, which was later joined by other states. Meters, kilometers, kilograms came into use. Now all economically developed countries adhere to the decimal metric system. Now answer the question: "How many kilometers in 1 mile?" much easier, despite the fact that miles are out of use. The reverse problem is also easily solved. Suppose we read that the objects were separated by 1 mile. How many kilometers will the traveler have to walk? There is an exact answer. How many kilometers in a mile is now absolutely known. A land mile is 1.608 km and a nautical mile is 1.853 km.

With a nautical mile, everything was initially somewhat simpler. After all, in the sea you can not measure the distance with steps. To answer the question of how many kilometers in a mile, sailors had to rely on astronomical calculations. A nautical mile was conditionally equal to one minute of latitude, or 1853 meters, that is, if a ship sails one nautical mile along the meridian, its location will change by exactly one minute of geographical latitude.

True, there is a small catch. Our Earth is not exactly a sphere, it is flattened from the poles. And it turns out that at the equator the distance separating one minute of latitude from another is a little more. Therefore, there is another unit for measuring distance - the equatorial nautical mile. It is 1855 meters.

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In order to find out how many kilometers are in a mile, you need to use a simple online calculator. Enter in the left field the number of miles you are interested in that you want to convert. In the field on the right you will see the result of the calculation.

If you need to convert miles or kilometers to other units, just click on the appropriate link.

What is "mile"

In Latin, a mile is mille passuum, which is translated as 1,000 double steps of Roman soldiers in full dress on the march.

This unit was originally used to measure the path in ancient Rome. Before the introduction of the metric system, the mile was in use everywhere, and in countries with a non-metric system of measures, it is still preserved. The Egyptian mile is 0.58 km, the Old Norse mile is 11.3 km, and in total there were 46 units of measurement with this name in Europe.

A statutory or British (American) mile is equal to 1,609 meters, 5,280 feet, or 1,760 yards.

The range of mile values ​​is huge: French land mile = 4444.4 m, nautical mile = 1852 m, geographical or German = 7420 m, old Russian = 7467.6 m, Swedish = 10 km, Scottish 1809-1814 m .

What is "kilometer"

A kilometer (km, km) is a multiple of a meter reference unit of distance measurement, widely used throughout the world.

In one kilometer there are 1,000 meters, 0.621 miles, 0.9374 versts, 1,094 yards, 3,281 feet, 1.057 x 10 - 13 light years, 6.67 x 10 - 9 astronomical units.

Quick answer: 1 mile is 1.609 km.

And did you know that kilometer distance is a distance measurement introduced in Ancient Rome?

In fact, even its Latin name unequivocally says: "mille chume" - a thousand double steps of Roman soldiers in full uniform.

Today, of course, the Roman length measurement does not apply. Although we are talking about a mile, this means the British or American mile, which is 1609 meters long in the metric system.

At the same time, there are many other miles that you also need to be aware of:

• French Sea: 5555.5 m.

• French House. Phone: 4444.4 m.

• Old Russian miles: 7467.6 m.

• Scottish mile: no longer applicable, in the 19th century its length may vary by region.

What is more kilometers or kilometers?

task:

Learn more about miles or miles?

solution:

In accordance with the international system of measures and the weight of 1 kilometer is 1.609 kilometers.

That's why it's more than a mile.

Answer:

A mile is more than a kilometer 1609 times.

Decision Theory:

Mathematics is the science that deals with the logic of form and quantity.

Physics is the science that deals with the structure of matter and the interactions between fundamental components.

Mechanics is the field of science that deals with the behavior of physical bodies.

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This page provides a detailed answer to the question of what is a few kilometers or kilometers away (kilometer or kilometer).