User:Milton Beychok/Sandbox: Difference between revisions

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At one time, the volume of a gallon depended on what was being measured, and where it was being measured. But during the 18th century, three definitions were in common use throughout the [[British Empire]]:


*The '''''ale gallon''''', used for measuring beer was defined in [[England]], during the reign (1558 – 1603) of [[Queen Elizabeth I]], as having 282 cubic [[Inch|inches]] (≈ 4.62115 L).<ref name=Rowlett>[http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictA.html Ale Gallon] 2001, Professor Russ Rowlett, University of North Carolina</ref>
*The '''''Winchester gallon''''', or '''''corn gallon''''', used for measuring dry materials was defined by England's [[Parliament]] in 1696 as one-eighth of a Winchester bushel having a volume of a cylinder 18.5 inches in diameter and 8 inches deep. Thus, the ''Winchester gallon'' was approximately 268.80252 cubic inches (≈ 4.40488 L).<ref name=Whitelaw>{{cite book|author=Ian Whitelaw|title=A Measure of All Things: The Story of Man and Measurement|edition=1st Edition|publisher=St. Martin's Press|year=2007|id=ISBN 0-312-37026-1}}</ref><ref name=Rowlett2>[http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/custom.html English Customary Weights and Measures] 2001, Professor Russ Rowlett, [[University of North Carolina]]</ref>
*The '''''wine gallon''''', or '''''Queen Anne's gallon''''', used for measuring wine was defined in England, in 1706 during the reign of [[Queen Anne]], as having a volume of 231 cubic inches (≈ 3.78541 L).<ref name=Whitelaw/><ref name=Rowlett2/>
After the [[American colonies]] revolted and and became independent of the [[British Empire]] in 1776, the United States subsequently adopted the Queen Anne gallon of 231 cubic inches (≈ 3.78541 L) for measuring liquids which is now known as the '''''U.S. liquid gallon'''''. The United States also adopted the Winchester gallon of 268.80252 cubic inches (≈ 4.40488 L) for measuring dry materials and it is now known as the '''''U.S. dry gallon'''''.
England made a different decision and, in 1824, the British defined the '''''Imperial gallon''''' as the volume of 10 [[pound (mass)|pound]]s of water at 62 °[[Fahrenheit (unit)|F]] and essentially atmospheric pressure (30 inches of [[mercury]]), and chose to use it for measuring both liquids and dry materials. That gave the Imperial gallon a volume of 277.42 cubic inches (4.54610 L) which is approximately 20 percent larger than the U.S. liquid gallon.
==References==
{{reflist}}

Revision as of 00:31, 12 June 2010

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