The Ton reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Ton

There are three similar units of mass called the ton or tonne:

• tonne (SI) or metric ton = 1000 kg (2204 lb). The official symbol is t, but mT and T are also used.
• short ton (or simply ton in casual use in the USA) = 907.185 kg (2000 lb).
• long ton (or weight ton) = 1016.047 kg (2240 lb), was commonly used in the UK (before it adopted the 1000 kg tonne) and for petroleum products.

The word ton or tonne is derived from the Old English tunne, and ultimately from the Old French tonne, and referred originally to a large cask with a capacity of 252 gallons, which holds approximately 2016 pounds of water. Such a barrel is still called a tun in British English, but this usage is dying out.

External link

• Conversion Calculator for Units of Mass and Weight

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The freight ton or measurement ton is another unit of measure (technically of volume) used for describing ship capacities (tonnage) or cargo. One measurement ton is equal to:

• 40 cubic feet
• 1.48148 cubic yards
• 1,132.67 litres
• 1.13267 cubic metres

The amount of water displaced by one measurement ton has a mass similar the ton masses listed above: 1,132.7 kg, or 2497.1 lb. The measurement ton is abbreviated as M/T, MT, or MTON, which can cause it to be confused with the metric ton.

The register ton is also a unit of volume, defined as 100 cubic feet. It is often abbreviated GRT for gross registered ton.

See 1 E-1 m³ and orders of magnitude (volume) for a comparison with other volumes.

External link

• Conversion Calculator for Units of Volume

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