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The units of measurement in use in Denmark are currently part of the metric system. A variety of other historical weights and measures have been employed throughout the nation's history.
The Danes started with a system of units based on a Greek pous ("foot") of 308.4 millimetres (1.012 ft) which they picked up through trade in the late Bronze Age/early Iron Age. Some early standards of measure can be recovered from measured drawings made of the 52.5-foot-long (16.0 m) Hjortspring boat, which though dating to the early Iron Age exemplifies plank-built vessels of the late Bronze Age and the 82-foot-long (25 m) Nydam ship. Thwarts are typically spaced about 3 fod apart.
King Christian V of Denmark introduced an office to oversee weights and measures, a justervæsen. This was first led by the royal mathematician Ole Rømer, who established a national system of weights and measures on May 1, 1683. [1] [2] Rømer's system, which he updated in 1698, was based on the Rhine foot. Its definitions included the following: [3]
Rømer also suggested a pendulum definition for the foot (although this would not be implemented until after his death), and invented an early temperature scale. [4] [5]
The metric system was introduced in 1907.
| unit | relation to previous | metric value | Imperial Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| potte | 966 mL | 2.04 Pt |
The inch is a unit of length in the British imperial and the United States customary systems of measurement. It is equal to 1/36 yard or 1/12 of a foot. Derived from the Roman uncia ("twelfth"), the word inch is also sometimes used to translate similar units in other measurement systems, usually understood as deriving from the width of the human thumb.
The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English feet, or 1,760 yards. The statute mile was standardised between the British Commonwealth and the United States by an international agreement in 1959, when it was formally redefined with respect to SI units as exactly 1,609.344 metres.
Ole Christensen Rømer was a Danish astronomer who, in 1676, made the first measurement of the speed of light.
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United States customary units form a system of measurement units commonly used in the United States and most U.S. territories, since being standardized and adopted in 1832. The United States customary system developed from English units that were in use in the British Empire before the U.S. became an independent country. The United Kingdom's system of measures was overhauled in 1824 to create the imperial system, which was officially adopted in 1826, changing the definitions of some of its units. Consequently, while many U.S. units are essentially similar to their imperial counterparts, there are significant differences between the systems.
The yard is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.9144 meter. A distance of 1,760 yards is equal to 1 mile.
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The following systems arose from earlier systems, and in many cases utilise parts of much older systems. For the most part they were used to varying degrees in the Middle Ages and surrounding time periods. Some of these systems found their way into later systems, such as the Imperial system and even SI.
An ell is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit. The word literally means "arm", and survives in the form of the modern English word "elbow" (arm-bend). Later usage through the 19th century refers to several longer units, some of which are thought to derive from a "double ell".
English units are the units of measurement used in England up to 1826, which evolved as a combination of the Anglo-Saxon and Roman systems of units. Various standards have applied to English units at different times, in different places, and for different applications.
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The Exchequer Standards may refer to the set of official English standards for weights and measures created by Queen Elizabeth I, and in effect from 1588 to 1825, when the Imperial Units system took effect, or to the whole range of English unit standards maintained by the Court of the Exchequer from the 1200s, or to the physical reference standards physically kept at the Exchequer and used as the legal reference until the such responsibility was transferred in the 1860s, after the Imperial system had been established.
I 1683 udarbejdede Ole Rømer en forordning, der fastsatte den danske mil samt en række andre mål, hvilket var hårdt tiltrængt, for indtil da havde der hersket et sandt enhedskaos i Danmark/Norge. Eksempelvis var en sjællandsk alen 63 centimeter, ...
En studie i Ole Rømers efterladte optegnelser, Adversaria, som hans enke Else Magdalene ... at give Christian V's kongelige mathematicus Ole Rømer (1644–1710) æren for udformningen af forordningen af 1.V.1683 ...
... Maj 1683 gennemførte Reform af Maal og Vægt fastsatte Ole Rømer den danske Mils Længde til 12 000 danske Alen.