Gran

Gran ( lat. Granum - grain, grains ) - an obsolete unit of measurement of mass based on the weight of barley grain; different systems of measures used different unit standards.

In Russia, before the introduction of metric measures, the Nuremberg weight system was used in pharmacy. The basic unit is a pharmacy pound . In a pound 12 ounces , in 1 ounce 8 drams , in 1 drachma 3 scrupules , in 1 scruple 20 grains. 1 Russian pharmacy pound - 358.323 grams . Accordingly, 1 ounce - 29.860 g, 1 drachma - 3.732 g, 1 scrupul - 1.244 g, 1 gran - 62.2 mg. The system was canceled in the USSR on January 1, 1927 . ^[one]

In England , the mass measurement system was based on the Troy weight system . In it, the main unit is the troy pound, 373.2417216 g. It was divided into 12 troy ounces of 31.1034768 grams . Each ounce consisted of 8 drams. Drachma was equivalent to 3 scruples . 1 scrupul consisted of 20 gran. The weight of troy grains is 64.798 91 mg. ^{[2] [3]}

In jewelry, a gran equal to a quarter of a weight carat , that is, 50 mg, was used.

In the USA and Great Britain, troy gran ( English grain ) is still used in separate areas. Abbreviated as gr (without a dot at the end). For example, in the field of firearms for measuring the mass of bullets and powder charges. As a rule, in ammunition issued in Anglo-Saxon countries, the mass of bullets and gunpowder in a cartridge is expressed by an integer number of grains - you can find bullets in 54, 100, 147, 200, 220 grains, etc. In the counted form of grains (as, in fact, and grams ) it is allowed not to bow: a bullet weighing 150 grains and a bullet weighing 150 grains .

In European countries (among ammunition manufacturers and in the literature on ballistics), abnormal abbreviations of grain are often found: grs , grn , gns - with or without dots.

It is also sometimes used for dosage of drugs.

Mentioned units were preserved in winged expressions (for example, “not a grain of truth”, “not a grain of feeling”) ^[4] , in the XX century many of them were distorted and began to be used in the form of “not a gram ...” (in harmony with another small unit of measurement )