Some fields ofengineering in the United States use a system of measurement of physical quantities known as theEnglish Engineering Units.[1][2] Despite its name, the system is based onUnited States customary units of measure.
The English Engineering Units is a system of units used in the United States. The set is defined by the following units,[3] anddefinitive conversions to theInternational System of Units.[4]
| Dimension | English Engineering Unit | SI unit | Unit conversion (of intervals) |
|---|---|---|---|
| time | second (s) | second (s) | 1 s |
| length | foot (ft) | metre (m) | 0.3048 m |
| mass | pound mass (lb) | kilogram (kg) | 0.45359237 kg |
| force | pound-force (lbf) | newton (N) | 4.4482216152605 N |
| temperature | degreeFahrenheit (°F) | degreeCelsius (°C) | 5/9 °C[a] |
| absolute temperature | degreeRankine (°R) | kelvin (K) | 5/9 K |
Units for other physical quantities are derived from this set as needed.
In English Engineering Units, the pound-mass and the pound-force are distinct base units, andNewton's second law of motion takes the form where is the acceleration in ft/s2 andgc = 32.174 lb·ft/(lbf·s2).
The termEnglish units strictly refers to the system used in England until 1826, when it was replaced by (more rigorously defined)imperial units. The United States continued to use the older definitions until theMendenhall Order of 1893, which established the United States customary units. Nevertheless, the term "English units" persisted in common speech and was adapted as "English engineering units" but these are based on US customary units rather than the pre-1826 English system.
A similar system, termedBritish Engineering Units by Halliday and Resnick (1974), is a system that uses theslug as the unit of mass, and in which Newton's law retains the formF = ma.[5] Modern British engineering practice has usedSI base units since at least the late 1970s.[6]
1.2 These new sections represent the first stage of a complete revision and metrication of the 'Railway Construction and Operation Requirements for Passenger Lines and Recommendations for Goods Lines of the Minister of Transport', 1950 (Reprinted 1970). They are published separately in advance of the complete revision because of the urgent need for an up-to-date metric guide to the Department's requirements for clearances, both structural and electrical.