Yard ( English yard ) - British and American units of measurement of distance [1] . Now the metric yard is three metric feet (36 inches ) or 91.44 cm. [2] . Not included in the SI system.
History
There are several versions of the origin of the name and size of the yard. A large measure of length, called a yard, was introduced by King Edgar of England (959–975) and was equal to the distance from the tip of His Majesty’s nose to the tip of the middle finger extended in the direction of the hand. As soon as the monarch changed, the yard became different - it lengthened, since the new king was of a larger build than his predecessor. Then, the next time the king changed, the yard became shorter again. Such frequent changes in units of length made confusion. In other versions, the yard is the monarch's waist circumference or the length of his sword [3] . King Henry I (1100–1135) legitimized a permanent yard in 1101 and ordered a standard to be made from elm. This yard is still used in England (its length is 0.9144 m). The yard was divided into 2, 4, 8 and 16 parts, called, respectively, half-yard , span , finger and nail .
Several attempts were made to standardize the size of the yard, so at different times the yard had a different length. The modern yard is a compromise between British and American standards and is calibrated with reference to the meter .
Notes
- ↑ Yard // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 t. (82 t. And 4 add.). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- Ast AV Astin & H. Arnold Karo, (1959), National Bureau of Standards , republished at the National Register (Doc. 59-5442, Filed , June 30, 1959, 8:45 am)
- ↑ Irina Vinokurova. Grain Metrology // Technique - youth . - 2011. - № 7 (July). - p. 50.
Literature
- Yard // Encyclopedic dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extra). - SPb. , 1890-1907.