Different Units

Units play an integral role in our life. Yet we seem to have an abundance of contrasting units being used in distinct parts of the world. Why are there so many units you ask? The reason is that each area had its units based on their distinct culture, customs, and economy. There was a need to standardise the units all over the world as more and more regions, that were previously isolated from one another, began to trade with each other. It began with the Weights and Measures Act of 1824 that was passed by the British government which gave strict definitions to imperial units. It was later found, through an American survey, that weights and measures seemed to differ significantly at different ports across the globe. This led to the U.S. standardising its units in 1834 (which were not always similar to those used by their British counterparts.) Finally, the System International d'Unites (SI)-the modern form of the Metric System-was developed in France after the French Academy was commissioned to design a new system of units in 1790.

StructX recognises the importance of keeping units consistent and with this in mind the 'StructX Engineering Calculators' were developed to help you do just that.