One mile long. Once and for all, we figure out how many kilometers are in one mile

More than two hundred years ago, France passed the Law on the metric system of measures, which has been used by most of the world since then. We are talking about the meter and the gram. Prior to that, each country had its own ways of measuring distance and mass, for example, arshin and sazhen among the Slavs. Now it seems to us that such measures are terribly inconvenient, everyone is used to the fact that in any country the same measures of measurement. But in countries such as Myanmar, Liberia and the United States, they do not use the generally accepted metric system.

The measurement of distance, for example, is still done in terms of miles, and the question of how many kilometers in a mile or how many centimeters in an inch is often of interest to the domestic consumer of foreign, namely American products.

The history of the concept of "mile"

This is a measure used in a number of countries of antiquity, and its name comes from the Latin mille passuum - the so-called distance of a thousand double steps that Roman soldiers take on the march, fully dressed in armor of that time. But there is no single system for converting miles into kilometers. This is due to the fact that back in the 18th century in Europe there were about ... fifty different miles. The smallest mile, compared to a kilometer, is the Egyptian one, equal to 580 meters. And the maximum value is the old Norwegian mile, equal to 11.3 kilometers.

Mile in different countries

The French had at least two miles - land and sea, and their dimensions were displayed as part of the length of the arc of the earth's meridian. How many kilometers in a land mile, calculated from 1/25 ° of the earth meridian, and this is 4444.4 meters, that is, almost 4.5 kilometers, similarly to a nautical mile, 1/20 ° of the earth meridian, and this is 5.555 km.

Milliatrius, she is the ancient Roman mile, equals 1.482 km. The old Russian mile was equal to seven versts, and now it is almost 7.5 kilometers, about the same value - 7420 meters is the German one mile. How many kilometers the Swedes and Norwegians equate to one mile is 10.668 km and 11.298 km respectively. However, after the adoption of the law on metric measures, both countries equated a mile to exactly ten kilometers.

Why the US does not adopt the metric system

Why is a highly developed country still using the old system of numbers? This question is connected with many nuances. They tried to make the transition many times, but they interfered with various kinds historical events and financial expenses required for such a case. For example, having gained independence in 1776, the United States wanted to bring order to the system of measuring quantities. But it turned out that this would require sending a delegation to France. At that time, such a trip would have been very expensive, and the case was postponed indefinitely. When the American Civil War ended (1865), most of the countries of Europe switched to the metric system, and this fact could no longer be ignored. In 1866, an act was signed declaring the metric system official for litigation, contracts and deals. That is, for almost 150 years the United States should have used the metric system accepted by the whole world. In fact, the situation is as follows: in the United States, the use metric system"recommended". It is not mandatory, because only 30% of the products are "metrified". This applies to pharmaceuticals, where only the metric system is used, but otherwise they can indicate data for two systems.

How many kilometers in a mile are there now

Now there is a concept of two miles - sea and land. The nautical mile is equal to 1862 meters, the American land mile is equal to 1.609344 kilometers. To calculate how many kilometers in a mile, for an approximate value, simply multiply the number in miles by 1.6. So, a car speed of 40 miles per hour would be approximately equal to the metric 65 kilometers per hour.

- (from Latin mille passuum a thousand double Roman steps of "canes") a travel measure for measuring distance, introduced in Rome. The mile was used in a number of countries in antiquity, as well as in many modern countries before the introduction of the metric ... ... Wikipedia

- (French mille, German Meile). A travel measure in Europe, which has a different value, in Russia = 7 versts. Dictionary foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. A MILE is a measure of length, of various sizes: German geographical = ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

- (English mile) a unit of length that was widespread in national non-metric systems of units and is now used mainly in maritime affairs. 1 mile (nautical) = 1.852 km; in the UK 1 mile (nautical) \u003d 1.853 km, 1 land mile ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

MILYA, and, wives. Travel measure of length, different in different countries. Sea m. (1852 or 1853 m). Land m. (1609 m). Old Russian m. (7468 m). Dictionary Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

AND; and. [English] mile] 1. A unit of length, measuring distances, used in maritime affairs. The ship was moving at eight miles an hour. Sea m. (distance 1,853 kilometers). 2. Unit of length, distance measurements, different in different ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

mile- and, genus. pl. miles, w. A measure of length used primarily in maritime affairs. Swim a few miles. Etymology: From English mile (← Latin milia passuum ‘thousand double Roman steps’). Encyclopedic commentary: Sea mile ... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language

- (English mile, from Latin milia passuum a thousand double Roman steps) a unit of length that was widespread in national non-metric systems of units and is now used mainly in maritime affairs. In the USSR and most countries ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (English mile), a unit of length that was widespread in the national. iemetric systems of units and the currently used Ch. arr. into the sea deed. 1 M. (sea) \u003d 1.852 km; in the UK 1 M. (sea) \u003d 1.853 km, 1 M. land (authorized) \u003d 1.609 km ... ... Natural science. encyclopedic Dictionary

mile- and; and. (English mile) 1) A unit of length, measuring distances, used in maritime affairs. The ship was moving at eight miles an hour. Nautical mile. (distance of 1,853 kilometers) 2) Unit of length, measuring distances, different in different ... ... Dictionary of many expressions

Nautical mile- an off-system unit of length used in maritime affairs. In 1928, the International Hydrographic Bureau adopted the standard M.m.: 1 m.m. = 1.852 km = 10 kb (cable) (in the UK 1 nm = 1.853 km). Land mile = 1.609 km… … Border Dictionary

Asia- (Asia) Description of Asia, countries, states of Asia, history and peoples of Asia Information about Asian states, history and peoples of Asia, cities and geography of Asia Contents Asia is the largest part of the world, forms Eurasia together with the mainland ... Encyclopedia of the investor

A mile is a unit of measure for distance dating back to ancient Rome. Translated from Latin means 1,000 steps. The military - the Romans, walking along the roads of the empire, measured the distance with double steps. Initially, the Roman mile corresponded to 1475 meters. This measure was used in many countries in antiquity. However, with the introduction of the metric system of measures, known as the SI, its use has been greatly reduced. One way or another, today in some countries this travel measure of length is still used. It should be noted that the length of a mile varies greatly in different parts of the world from 0.58 km to 11.3 km. Moreover, back in the 18th century in Europe, there were about 46 units of measurement, which were called miles.

To date, several types of miles are found in everyday life in different areas. Speaking about the most popular of them, we can name:

• Land miles
• Nautical miles

Let's consider each of them in more detail.

Nautical miles

A nautical mile is a unit of measure for the distance traveled by a ship between destinations. This measure is widely used in navigation as well as in aviation. Essentially this average length arcs of one arc minute of the meridian. Gerard Mercator, a Flemish cartographer and geographer, suggested using this measure. In Russia, the nautical mile has been used since the time of Peter the Great. And today, when seafarers are offered to move to kilometers, they answer that they do not plan to do this. However, it is justified. After all, a nautical mile is, in fact, a path corresponding to the distance between two geographical coordinates in one minute of latitude.

How many kilometers are in a mile? Here are the formulas for converting miles to kilometers and vice versa.

Nautical mile to kilometers conversion formula

1 nautical mile = 1,852 meters = 1.852 kilometers

Derive the formula for converting a kilometer to a nautical mile

1 nautical mile = 1.852 kilometers
1,000 nautical miles = 1,852 kilometers
1 kilometer = 1000/1852 miles (approximately equal to) 0.54 miles

Formula to convert kilometers to nautical miles

1 kilometer = 1000 / 1852 miles? 0.54 miles

Land miles

The land mile is used primarily in English-speaking countries, and corresponds to a value equal to 1,609 meters. The statute mile is used in the United States and is sometimes referred to as the American mile for this reason. Accordingly, if you want to know: how many kilometers are in a US mile or, which is the same, how many km are in a US mile, then the above value should be used. Also, this unit can be found under the names British or statute mile.

Formula to convert statute miles to kilometers

1 statute mile = 1,609 meters = 1.609 kilometers

Kilometer to statute mile conversion formula

1 km = 1000/1609 statute miles = 0.6215 statute miles

In addition to those described, there are also:

• geographical or German mile equal to 7,420 meters (7.42 km);
• an old Russian mile equal to 7,467.6 meters (7.4676 km).

1 mile is how many kilometers in Russia?

I would also like to note that in Russia this measure of length is not used, because there is nothing to measure in these units of measurement in the Russian Federation. Sailors have worldwide nautical miles (see above).

Often there is a need, for example, when solving a problem to find out: how many miles are in a kilometer or vice versa? Here it is worth clarifying which mile (land or sea) you need to transfer. Or maybe an old Russian mile or a German one? And already depending on this, you can translate this value into the usual kilometers. Let's consider several problems of converting miles to kilometers and vice versa. For definiteness, we clarify that to solve problems we will convert nautical miles into kilometers (1 nautical mile \u003d 1.852 kilometers).

Convert miles to km

How many miles are in N kilometers?

Consider inverse problems of finding the number of kilometers in a mile? And we will convert kilometers to statute miles (1 km = 0.6215 miles).

Miles to kilometers convert online

We offer you to use our calculator for converting miles to kilometers online.

The British metric system causes a lot of inconvenience to those who are used to simple and understandable kilograms, meters and liters. How a mile is determined in km and why the old measure turned out to be so tenacious is described in this article.

historical measures

From the distant past came to us inches and miles, pounds and yards, bushels and pints. All these units of measurement were directly related to man. Without a standard system of weights and measures at hand, people used what was nearby. What could be closer own hands and legs? This is how the first anthropometric measures related to the size of human body parts appeared. For example, an inch was called the length of the phalanx index finger. A foot is the size of a grown man's foot, and so on. But what is 1 mile? How many kilometers is it?

What are miles

This well-known measure of length came to us from ancient times. Due to its antiquity, it has many interpretations. When answering the question “1 mile - how many kilometers?”, It is imperative to clarify which unit of measurement the interlocutor has in mind. The Egyptian mile is 580 meters, while the longest, the Norwegian mile, is almost 11 kilometers.

Until the middle of the 18th century, in Europe alone, there were about 46 different miles, which measured completely different distances.

Why is that?

Such a discrepancy in this standard measure of length is easily explained. The word "mile" has Latin roots. This standard measure of length was measured by one thousand steps of ancient Roman legionnaires.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, a simple and convenient value began to be used throughout Europe. Yes, they just considered it differently. Many nations coordinated the mile with their national measures of length. For example, the Russian mile was equal to seven versts, the French equated it to their Gallic leagues, and the British measured a mile in furlongs. Proud Scots also used this measure of length, but it varied considerably in size in different regions of the Highlands and was somewhat longer than the English one.

Snap to geography

Later, with the advent of precise measuring instruments, wayward mile attempted to standardize. Over the centuries, the study of the surrounding world has given scientists accurate knowledge about the structure of our planet. It turned out to be very convenient to draw the surface of the Earth with parallels and meridians and link the existing units of length to geographical measurements. One of the first in this series was 1 mile. How many kilometers did it cover in geographic units? Everything depended on the name.

Such a different mile

The practical Germans were the first to love this correspondence. From now on, the German mile (aka geographical) was equal to 1/15 degree of the equatorial parallel, which amounted to 7.420 km.

The French divided the land and nautical miles, but equated both values ​​to a fraction of the earth's meridian. One land league occupies the 25th part of one meridian degree. In the standard system of measures and weights, one French mile is 4.44 km. A nautical mile is slightly longer. The French equated it to 1/20 of a meridian degree. Accordingly, its length will be longer - the French nautical mile is 5.55 km.

The Swedes were the easiest. Before the spread of the metric system, they used their own mile, which was equal to 10.6 km. After the approval of the international SI system, the Swedes only slightly shortened their mile and recognized it as equal to 10.0 km.

British (American) mile

By far the most common is the British mile, often referred to as the American mile. The default for international business documents is UK 1 mile. How many kilometers of airways are converted into miles for British and American passengers, only employees of international airlines know.

After all, according to tradition, the duration of air flights and bonuses for passengers are calculated in American miles. One such unit of length is 1.609 km and is a multiple of eight furlongs, 1760 yards and 5280 feet.

The mile as a unit for measuring long distances did not first appear in England or the USA (where it eventually took root). The word was invented by the ancient Romans, and it means only "thousand". That was how much a legionnaire in full combat dress had to go through in order to feel tired and have some rest.

History of the mile

At first, it was customary to indicate by miles all the long distances: both on land and at sea. But then, with the advent of the meter, it became not very convenient to use a mile as a unit of length: after all, it is not every day that you need to travel such distances on dry land, and in other cases, for example, to measure the length of objects, use a mile even less appropriate.

But the sailors of all countries and continents fell in love with the mile. If it is not surprising for the great maritime power - England - what would you say about the Portuguese navigator Magellan or the Turkish marshal Piri Reis? Nevertheless, the mile fell in love with them. Miles began to designate all distances on sea charts, to use when counting distances, using sextants. Later, derivatives of the nautical mile appeared. For example, the knot, the unit of speed for a ship, is one mile per hour. Interestingly, in English-speaking countries, the measurement of speed in miles per hour was practiced at the end of the 20th century, and in the USA and conservative Great Britain, some car brands still supply speed measuring devices where miles appear.

How many miles were there?

A lot of. In an era of not very intense connections between different regions, there were German, French, Norwegian and even Scottish miles. The longest was the French (otherwise - league), and on land it corresponded to 4444.4 m, and at sea - 5555.5 m. However, the longest mile comes from Norway: it was almost 11300 m.

In modern practice, the mile has firmly established itself in maritime affairs: there it is equal to 1852 m. Such a multiple number was chosen by navigators for a reason: this is exactly the length of the arc of 1/60 ° of the earth's meridian. Since sailors are not spoiled by land landmarks, it is easier to measure distances on the high seas precisely by astronomical parameters.

Some multinational automakers that sell their products both in Europe and overseas supply the speedometer scale with both "mile" and "metric" parts. Not very convenient, but original.

But in Russia, the mile did not take root. If it was used, it was only as an addition to the traditional verst. It turned out quite clumsily - one Russian mile corresponded to 7467 meters. Try to remember here...