The litre or liter (see spelling differences) is a unit of volume. American and British English spelling differences are one aspect of American and British English differences. The volume of any solid plasma vacuum or theoretical object is how much three- Dimensional space it occupies often quantified numerically There are two official symbols: the Latin letter L in lower (l) and upper case (L). L is the twelfth letter of the Latin alphabet. Its name in English is el or occasionally ell (ɛl The litre appears in several versions of the metric system; although not an SI unit, it is accepted for use with the SI. The metric system is a decimalised system of measurement. It exists in several variations with different choices of base units, though the choice of base units does The international unit of volume is the cubic metre (m³). CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. One litre is equal to 0. 001 cubic metre and is denoted as 1 cubic decimetre (dm³). A decimetre ( American spelling: decimeter, symbol dm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one tenth

Contents 1 Origin 2 Definition 3 SI prefixes applied to the litre 4 Non-metric conversions 4.1 Rough conversions 5 Explanation 6 Symbol 7 History 8 Colloquial and practical usage 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

Origin

The word "litre" is derived from an older French unit, the litron, whose name came from Greek via Latin. In France, before the decimalised Metric system The original metric system used the litre as a base unit.

Definition

A litre is defined as a special name for a cubic decimetre (1 L = 1 dm³). Hence 1 L ≡ 0. 001 m³ (exactly). CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. So 1000 L = 1 m³

SI prefixes applied to the litre

The litre may be used with any SI prefix. An SI prefix (also known as a metric prefix) is a name or associated symbol that precedes a unit of measure (or its symbol to form a Decimal multiple or The most commonly used is the millilitre, defined as one-thousandth of a litre (one cubic centimetre). It is a commonly used measurement, especially in medicine and cooking. Other units may be found in the table below, the more often used terms are in bold.

Multiple	Name	Symbols		Equivalent volume			Multiple	Name	Symbols		Equivalent volume
100 L	litre	l	L	dm3	cubic decimetre
101 L	decalitre	dal	daL				10–1 L	decilitre	dl	dL
102 L	hectolitre	hl	hL				10–2 L	centilitre	cl	cL
103 L	kilolitre	kl	kL	m3	cubic metre		10–3 L	millilitre	ml	mL	cm3	cubic centimetre (cc)
106 L	megalitre	Ml	ML	dam3	cubic decametre		10–6 L	microlitre	µl	µL	mm3	cubic millimetre
109 L	gigalitre	Gl	GL	hm3	cubic hectometre		10–9 L	nanolitre	nl	nL	106 µm3	1 million cubic micrometres
1012 L	teralitre	Tl	TL	km3	cubic kilometre		10–12 L	picolitre	pl	pL	103 µm3	1 thousand cubic micrometres
1015 L	petalitre	Pl	PL	103 km3	1 thousand cubic kilometres		10–15 L	femtolitre	fl	fL	µm3	cubic micrometre
1018 L	exalitre	El	EL	106 km3	1 million cubic kilometres		10–18 L	attolitre	al	aL	106 nm3	1 million cubic nanometres
1021 L	zettalitre	Zl	ZL	Mm3	cubic megametre		10–21 L	zeptolitre	zl	zL	103 nm3	1 thousand cubic nanometres
1024 L	yottalitre	Yl	YL	103 Mm3	1 thousand cubic megametres		10–24 L	yoctolitre	yl	yL	nm3	cubic nanometre

Non-metric conversions

Litre expressed in non-metric unit			Non-metric unit expressed in litre
1 L ≈ 0. 87987699	Imperial quart		1 Imperial quart	≡ 1. The quart is an imperial and US customary unit of Volume equal to a quarter of a Gallon. 1365225 litre
1 L ≈ 1. 056688	US fluid quart		1 US fluid quart	≡ 0. 946352946 litre
1 L ≈ 1. 75975326	Imperial pint		1 Imperial pint	≡ 0. The pint is an English unit of Volume or capacity in the imperial system and United States customary units. 56826125 litre
1 L ≈ 2. 11337641	US fluid pints		1 US fluid pint	≡ 0. 473176473 litre
1 L ≈ 0. 2641720523	US liquid gallon		1 US liquid gallon	≡ 3. A gallon is a measure of Volume. It is in current use in the United States and still has limited use in many other English-speaking countries 785411784 litres
1 L ≈ 0. 21997	Imperial gallon		1 Imperial gallon	≡ 4. 54609 litres
1 L ≈ 0. 0353146667	cubic foot		1 cubic foot	≡ 28. The cubic foot is an imperial and US customary (non- metric) unit of Volume, used in the United States Canada and the United Kingdom 316846592 litres
1 L ≈ 61. 0237441	cubic inches		1 cubic inch	≡ 0. A cubic inch (plural cubic inches) is a non- SI unit of Volume, equal to the volume of a Cube with sides of one Inch. 01638706 litres
See also Imperial units and US customary units

Rough conversions

One litre is slightly more than one U. Imperial units or the Imperial system is a collection of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824 US customary units, also known in the United States as English units or Imperial units (in reference to the British Empire) (but see English S. liquid quart and slightly less than one Imperial quart or the less common U. S. dry quart.

A measured cup is roughly 250 mL. The cup is a unit of measurement for volume used in cooking to measure bulk foods such as Granulated sugar (dry measurement and liquids ( Fluid measurement

A litre is the volume of a cube with sides of 10 cm, which is slightly less than a cube of sides 4 inches (or one-third of a foot). Twenty-seven cubes "one-third of a foot on each side" would fit in one cubic foot, which is within 5% of the actual value of exactly 28. 316846592 litres.

A nice aide-memoire is: "A litre of water's a pint and three quarters". (Imperial pints, that is)

Explanation

Litres are most commonly used for items (such as fluids and berries) which are measured by the capacity or size of their container, whereas cubic metres (and derived units) are most commonly used for items measured either by their dimensions or their displacements. FLUID ( F ast L ight '''U'''ser '''I'''nterface D esigner is a graphical editor that is used to produce FLTK Source code The word berry has two meanings one based on a botanical definition the other on common identification The litre is often also used in some calculated measurements, such as density (kg/L), allowing an easy comparison with the density of water.

One litre of water has a mass of almost exactly one kilogram when measured at its maximal density, which occurs at about 4 degrees celsius. Mass is a fundamental concept in Physics, roughly corresponding to the Intuitive idea of how much Matter there is in an object Similarly: 1 millilitre of water has about 1 g of mass; 1,000 litres of water has about 1,000 kg of mass. Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. This relationship is because the gram was originally defined as the mass of 1 mL of water. However, this definition was abandoned in 1799 because the density of water changes with temperature and, very slightly, pressure.

Symbol

Originally, the only symbol for the litre was l (lowercase letter l), following the SI convention that only those unit symbols that abbreviate the name of a person start with a capital letter.

In many English-speaking countries, the most common shape of a handwritten Arabic digit 1 is just a vertical stroke, that is it lacks the upstroke added in many other cultures. The arabic numerals (often capitalized are the ten Digits (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 which—along with the system Therefore, the digit 1 may easily be confused with the letter l. On some typewriters, particularly older ones, the unshifted L key had to be used to type the numeral 1. Further, even in some computer typefaces, the two characters are barely distinguishable. This caused some concern, especially in the medical community. As a result, L (uppercase letter L) was adopted as an alternative symbol for litre in 1979. The United States National Institute of Standards and Technology now recommends the use of the uppercase letter L, a practice that is also widely followed in Canada and Australia. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. In these countries, the symbol L is also used with prefixes, as in mL and µL, instead of the traditional ml and µl used in Europe. In the UK and Ireland, lowercase l is used with prefixes, though whole litres are often written in full (so, "750 ml" on a wine bottle, but often "1 litre" on a juice carton). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world

Prior to 1979, the symbol ℓ (script small l, U+2113), came into common use in some countries; for example, it was recommended by South African Bureau of Standards publication M33 and Canada in the 1970s. In Computing, Unicode is an Industry standard allowing Computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in most of the world's The South African Bureau of Standards ( SABS) is the national Standards body of South Africa, publishing South African National Standards (SANS This symbol can still be encountered occasionally in some English-speaking countries, and its use is ubiquitous in Japan and South Korea. Nevertheless, it is no longer used in most countries and no longer officially recognised by the BIPM, the International Organization for Standardization due to confusion and since, in any case, it is often not available in currently-used documentation systems. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures ( Bureau international des poids et mesures, in French) is an international Standards organization, one

History

In 1795, the litre was introduced in France as one of the new "Republican Measures", and defined as one cubic decimetre. Year 1795 ( MDCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

In 1879, the CIPM adopted the definition of the litre, and the symbol l (lowercase letter L). Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The International Committee for Weights and Measures is the English name of the Comité international des poids et mesures ( CIPM, sometimes written in English

In 1901, at the 3rd CGPM conference, the litre was redefined as the space occupied by 1 kg of pure water at the temperature of its maximum density (3. Year 1901 ( MCMI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The General Conference on Weights and Measures is the English name of the Conférence générale des poids et mesures ( CGPM, never GCWM Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. 98 °C) under a pressure of 1 atm. This made the litre equal to about 1. 000 028 dm³ (earlier reference works usually put it at 1. 000 027 dm³).

In 1964, at the 12th CGPM conference, the original definition was reverted to, and thus the litre was once again defined in exact relation to the metre, as another name for the cubic decimetre, that is, exactly 1 dm³. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. The General Conference on Weights and Measures is the English name of the Conférence générale des poids et mesures ( CGPM, never GCWM ^[1]

In 1979, at the 16th CGPM conference, the alternative symbol L (uppercase letter L) was adopted. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) The General Conference on Weights and Measures is the English name of the Conférence générale des poids et mesures ( CGPM, never GCWM It also expressed a preference that in the future only one of these two symbols should be retained, but in 1990 said it was still too early to do so. ^[2]

Colloquial and practical usage

In spoken English, the abbreviation "mL" (for millilitre) is often pronounced as "mil", which is homophonous with the colloquial term "mil", which is intended to mean "one thousandth of a metre". A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning This generally does not create confusion, because the context is usually sufficient — one being a volume, the other a linear measurement. The colloquial use of "mil" for millimetre for an ambiguous topic as in "5 mils of rain fell since 9am" may, however, be confusing. And in the United States a term of the same spelling and pronunciation means a thousandth of an inch. MilA thou, also known as a mil, is a unit of Length equal to 0

The abbreviation cc (for cubic centimetre, equal to a millilitre or mL)) is a unit of the cgs system, that preceded the MKS system, that later evolved into the SI system. A cubic centimetre or cubic centimeter (symbol cm3 —the abbreviation cc, though widely used is deprecated is a commonly used unit of Volume The centimetre-gram-second system ( CGS) is a system of physical units. The abbreviation cc is still commonly used in many fields including (for example) sizing for motorcycle and related sports for combustion engine displacement. The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the Combustion of Fuel and an Oxidizer (typically air occurs in a confined space called a Engine displacement is defined as the total Volume of air/fuel mixture an Engine can draw in during one complete engine cycle it is normally stated in Cubic

In European countries where the metric system was established well before the adoption of the SI standard, there is still carry-over of usage from the precursor cgs and MKS systems. The metric system is a decimalised system of measurement. It exists in several variations with different choices of base units, though the choice of base units does The centimetre-gram-second system ( CGS) is a system of physical units. In the SI system, use of prefixes for multiples of 1,000 is preferred and all other multiples discouraged. However, in countries where these other multiples were already established, their use remains common. In particular, use of the centi (10^-2), deci (10^-1), deca (10⁺¹), and hecto (10⁺²) prefixes are still common. For example, in many European countries, the hectolitre is the typical unit for production and export volumes of beverages (milk, beer, soft drinks, etc) and for measuring the size of the catch and quotas for fishing boats; decilitres are found in cookbooks; centilitres indicate the capacity of drinking glasses and of small bottles. A drink, or beverage, is a Liquid specifically prepared for Human consumption In colloquial Dutch in Belgium, a 'vijfentwintiger' and a 'drieëndertiger' (literally 'twenty-fiver' and 'thirty-threer') are the common beer glasses, the corresponding bottles mention 25 cL or 33 cL. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Bottles may also be 75 cL or half size at 37. 5 cL for 'artisanal' brews or 70 cL for wines or spirits. Cans come in 25 cL, 33 cL and 50 cL aka 0. 5 L. Family size bottles as for soft drinks or drinking water use the litre (0. 5 L, 1 L, 1. 5 L, 2 L), and so do beer barrels (50 L, or the half sized 25 L). This unit is most common for all other household size containers of liquids, from thermocans, by buckets, to bath tubs; as well as for fuel tanks and consumption for heating or by vehicles. Fuel is any material that is burned or altered in order to obtain energy

In countries where the metric system was adopted as the official measuring system after the SI standard was established, common usage more closely follow contemporary SI conventions. For example, in Canada where the metric system is now in wide-spread use, consumer beverages are labelled almost exclusively using litres and millilitres. Hectolitres sometimes appear in industry, but centilitres and decilitres are rarely, if ever, used. Larger volumes are usually given in cubic metres (equivalent to 1 kL), or thousands or millions of cubic metres. The situation is similar in Australia, although kilolitres, megalitres and gigalitres are commonly used for measuring water consumption, reservoir capacities and river flows.

For larger volumes of fluids, such as annual consumption of tap water, lorry (truck) tanks, or swimming pools, the cubic metre is the general unit, as it is for all volumes of a non-liquid nature. CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. There are a few exceptions in which the litre is used for rather large volumes, such as the irregularly shaped boot of a car or the internal size of a microwave oven.

See also

• Claude Émile Jean-Baptiste Litre
• Pint
• Gallon
• Kilogram
• Cubic metre

References

External links

• BIPM's "SI Brochure"
• BIPM's "(Table 6 -) Non-SI units accepted for use with the International System"
• NIST note on SI units
• NIST recommends uppercase letter L
• UK National Physical Laboratory's "Internationally recognised non SI units" page

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