An astronomical unit (AU) is a standard unit of measurement used in astronomy to describe distances within our solar system. It is defined as the average distance between the Earth and the Sun. The exact value of 1 astronomical unit is approximately: - 149,597,870.7 kilometers (about 92,955,807.
The barleycorn is a historical unit of measurement that originated from the size of a grain of barley. It was used primarily in the UK and various other regions for measuring length. Specifically, one barleycorn is equivalent to approximately 1/3 of an inch or about 8.47 millimeters. In terms of application, the barleycorn was commonly used in the measurement of shoe sizes, where the size increments were based on the length of the foot in barleycorns.
The foot is a unit of length commonly used in the United States and in some other countries that do not primarily use the metric system. One foot is equal to 12 inches and is equivalent to 0.3048 meters in the metric system. The foot is often used in various applications such as construction, manufacturing, and everyday measurements. It is abbreviated as "ft.
A "link" is a unit of measurement commonly used in the context of surveying and land measurement. One link is equivalent to 0.66 feet, or 7.92 inches. The link is part of the British Imperial and U.S. survey systems, and it is often used in conjunction with the chain, another surveying unit, where 1 chain equals 100 links. The link is primarily of historical interest nowadays, as modern surveying typically utilizes metric and decimal systems.
A "chain" is a unit of measurement commonly used in land surveying and agriculture. It is equal to 66 feet or 22 yards. The chain is an important unit in various historical and practical contexts, particularly in the measurement of large areas of land. In terms of area, one chain is equivalent to 0.01 square kilometers or 0.00621371 square miles.
In firearms terminology, "gauge" refers to a measurement that indicates the bore diameter of shotgun barrels. It is a standard used to categorize and describe shotguns, with the gauge number reflecting the size of the projectile used. The gauge number is derived from a historical method of measurement: it is the number of lead balls of a specific diameter that would weigh one pound.
The bríl (symbol: Br) is a derived unit of measurement for brightness in the context of visual perception. It quantifies how bright a light source appears to the human eye, taking into account both the intensity of the light and the response of the human visual system. The unit was proposed to provide a standardized way to express brightness in various applications, such as lighting design, photography, and display technology.
The skot is a unit of measurement of electric current that was historically used in certain regions, particularly within Russia and some adjacent countries. It is equal to 1 ampere. However, it is not widely used or recognized today, with the standard unit of electric current being the ampere, as defined by the International System of Units (SI). The skot may appear in older texts or regional contexts but has been largely replaced by more universally accepted units in contemporary scientific and engineering disciplines.
Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter, along with solid, liquid, and plasma. In a gaseous state, substances have particles that are widely spaced and move freely, which gives gases the ability to expand to fill the volume of their container. Some key characteristics of gases include: 1. **Indefinite Shape and Volume**: Gases do not have a fixed shape or volume. They take the shape and volume of their container.
The "finger" is a traditional unit of measurement used primarily to define a small length or distance, particularly in the context of measuring the height of horses and sometimes for other general uses. Historically, it was based on the width of a finger, which can vary from person to person but is generally considered to be approximately 2 to 3 inches (about 5 to 7.5 cm).
The term "Li" can refer to various concepts depending on the context, but in terms of units, it is often associated with the Chinese measurement of distance, where "li" (里) is a traditional unit that has varied in length over time and by region. Historically, one "li" was approximately equal to 500 meters (or about 1,640 feet), although this value could differ based on local standards.
"Muggeseggele" is a word from the Swabian dialect spoken in the southwestern region of Germany. It translates to "mug's little ear" in English and is commonly used to refer to a small, somewhat insignificant piece or a tiny bit of something, often a small leftover or a remnant. The term is often used colloquially and can also imply a sense of endearment or affection for something small.
A nautical mile is a unit of measurement used primarily in maritime and aviation contexts to measure distances over the Earth's surface. One nautical mile is defined as exactly 1,852 meters (or approximately 1.15078 statute miles). The nautical mile is based on the circumference of the Earth and is equivalent to one minute of latitude.
A "hand" is a unit of measurement that is traditionally used to measure the height of horses. One hand is equivalent to 4 inches (10.16 centimeters). Therefore, to express a horse's height in hands, the measurement is typically given in whole numbers and fractions of hands. For example, a horse that stands 15.
Horizontal pitch generally refers to the distance between two points along a horizontal line. Its meaning can vary depending on the context in which it is used: 1. **In Engineering and Manufacturing:** Horizontal pitch may refer to the spacing between components or features in a horizontal arrangement. For example, in mechanical design, it could indicate the horizontal distance between holes or mounting points. 2. **In Architecture:** It can describe the horizontal spacing of elements in a structural design, such as beams, columns, or tiles.
An inch is a unit of length in the imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. It is defined as exactly 2.54 centimeters. The inch is commonly used in various contexts, such as measuring the dimensions of physical objects, screen sizes, and in construction. One inch is divided into smaller units called fractions of an inch, with the most common divisions being halves, quarters, eighths, and sixteenths.
The "kan" is a traditional unit of measurement originating from East Asia, particularly Japan and China. In Japan, the term "kan" (貫) has historically been used to refer to both weight and volume measurements. 1. **Weight**: In terms of weight, one kan is approximately equal to 3.75 kilograms (or about 8.25 pounds). This usage was prevalent in historical contexts and has its roots in the trading of goods.
The term "step" can refer to different units or concepts depending on the context, but it is often associated with measuring physical activity. In fitness and health contexts, a "step" typically refers to one complete movement of a foot (or both feet) when walking or running. Commonly, pedometers and fitness trackers count the number of steps taken by an individual to monitor physical activity levels.
A "stick" is a unit of measurement that can refer to different things depending on the context, but it is often used informally to describe a quantity of a substance, particularly in terms of food or drugs. 1. **In Cooking**: A "stick" usually refers to a unit of measurement for butter. In many countries, a stick of butter is typically about 1/2 cup or 4 ounces (113 grams).
Pinned article: ourbigbook/introduction-to-the-ourbigbook-project
Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
Intro to OurBigBook
. Source. We have two killer features:
- topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculusArticles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
- a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
- a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.Figure 1. Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page. View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivativeVideo 2. OurBigBook Web topics demo. Source. - local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
- to OurBigBook.com to get awesome multi-user features like topics and likes
- as HTML files to a static website, which you can host yourself for free on many external providers like GitHub Pages, and remain in full control
Figure 2. You can publish local OurBigBook lightweight markup files to either OurBigBook.com or as a static website.Figure 3. Visual Studio Code extension installation.Figure 5. . You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally. Video 3. Edit locally and publish demo. Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension. - Infinitely deep tables of contents:
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact