Conversion factor

Conversion of units is the conversion between different units of measurement for the same quantity, typically through multiplicative conversion factors.an arc whose length is equal to the circle's radius.One full revolution encompasses 2π radians.by a portion of the surface of the sphere having an area r2.A sphere subtends 4π sr. Conversion of units is the conversion between different units of measurement for the same quantity, typically through multiplicative conversion factors. The process of conversion depends on the specific situation and the intended purpose. This may be governed by regulation, contract, technical specifications or other published standards. Engineering judgment may include such factors as: Some conversions from one system of units to another need to be exact, without increasing or decreasing the precision of the first measurement. This is sometimes called soft conversion. It does not involve changing the physical configuration of the item being measured. By contrast, a hard conversion or an adaptive conversion may not be exactly equivalent. It changes the measurement to convenient and workable numbers and units in the new system. It sometimes involves a slightly different configuration, or size substitution, of the item. Nominal values are sometimes allowed and used. A conversion factor is used to change the units of a measured quantity without changing its value. The unity bracket method of unit conversion consists of a fraction in which the denominator is equal to the numerator, but they are in different units. Because of the identity property of multiplication, the value of a quantity will not change as long as it is multiplied by one. Also, if the numerator and denominator of a fraction are equal to each other, then the fraction is equal to one. So as long as the numerator and denominator of the fraction are equivalent, they will not affect the value of the measured quantity. The following example demonstrates how the unity bracket method is used to convert the rate 5 kilometers per second to meters per second. The symbols km, m, and s represent kilometer, meter, and second, respectively. 5 km s ⋅ {displaystyle {frac {5{cancel { ext{km}}}}{ ext{s}}}cdot } 1000  m 1  km {displaystyle {frac {{1000}{ ext{ m}}}{{1}{cancel { ext{ km}}}}}} = {displaystyle =} 5000 ⋅ m s ⋅ 1 = {displaystyle {frac {5000cdot { ext{m}}}{{ ext{s}}cdot {1}}}=} 5000  m s {displaystyle {frac {5000{ ext{ m}}}{ ext{s}}}}